


Three's a crowd...

by quixotic_dreamer



Category: Impractical Jokers
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Sexual Fantasy, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-10
Updated: 2016-03-23
Packaged: 2018-05-25 22:08:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 28,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6212047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quixotic_dreamer/pseuds/quixotic_dreamer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a wild night Layla finds that both of the Jokers are looking for more...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sequel to The Object of my Desires. 
> 
> Thanks for all the notes, you have inspired me to write more! :)

Walking to work the next day I couldn’t help my mind running over the events of last night. It didn’t help that with every single step I took my body protested, having used muscles that I hadn’t used for a long time. 

As I walked into the bar I pulled my headphones out of my ear and instantly saw that one of the other barmaids was grinning widely at me and gesturing for me to hurry up. 

Taking a breath and trying not to look at the seat that Q had sat in the night before I walked up to her. 

“Look what came for you this morning!” Kelly exclaimed pulling me into the staff room.

On the table sat a bouquet of roses with a single card nestled in the middle. 

“Well open it.” Kelly urged me handing me the card as I shrugged off my leather jacket and tried to keep my face from registering my surprise.

I tore open the card and looked down at the hand written note in my hand. 

‘Last night was amazing. It was a first for me. Please don’t think otherwise. B x’

I was so engrossed in the note in my hands that I didn’t notice that Kelly had come up behind me and was reading over my shoulder. 

“What does that mean?” she asked, shaking me out of my reverie. “And who the fuck is B?” 

I hastily put the note in the pocket of my trousers and turned to face her. “No-one important.” I told her trying to remain impassive. “I need to get behind the bar.”

It was Friday night and the bar was much busier than the night before so I threw myself into work and tried to forget about last night. I couldn’t help looking at the flowers every time I walked past the staff room door, they sat there mocking me and reminding me what an idiot I had been.

Luckily the time passed quickly as I served the Friday night revelers and it seemed like minutes rather than hours later than Kelly came back in and took me off shift seeing as she was covering one of the other members of staff tonight. I dodged her questions and quickly headed into the staffroom. I shrugged into my jacket and looked at the flowers, eventually deciding that I wasn’t going to take them with me. My roommate was nosy and I knew that I would not be able to stop her questioning and needling me to tell her who they were from.

Pushing open the door I grabbed my headphones out my bag and plugged them into my phone, scrolling until I found something that I liked. I was just about to press play when a hand came from out of no-where and grabbed my arm.

My instincts took over and I had just curled my hand into a fist when I recognised the guy stood in front of me.

“Sal!” I exclaimed. “What the fuck are you doing here?” I asked, letting my arm fall limply to my side. “I nearly fucking punched you!”

Sal laughed and took a step back, putting his hands up in front of him in a defensive gesture.

“Hey! Take it easy.” He told me with a grin. “Brian told me where you worked and I was about to come for a drink, make up for never having gotten to say goodbye yesterday.” 

I gaped at him and felt my cheeks heat as I shook my head. “I don’t think that is a good idea.” 

Sal reached out and put his hand on my shoulder. “Why not?” 

I laughed. “Really?” I asked incredulously, trying not to stare as he stood in front of me holding my gaze. “You have to ask?”

A look of hurt flashed over his face but it disappeared so fast I wondered if it had really been there. “Come on,” he urged. “One little drink, maybe even a bite to eat.”

Just then my traitorous stomach grumbled and I realised belatedly that I hadn’t eaten anything all day. Sal heard it too and looked up at me with a grin. 

“Is that a yes?” he grinned.

I shook my head but let a smile curve the corner of my mouth and decided the hell with it, why not? I had nothing to lose and may as well let the guy buy me something to eat. It was impossible to deny the attraction between us but this didn’t mean that I had to do anything about it.

“Sure.” I agreed reluctantly. “What do you fancy?”

“Anything.” Sal replied. “Surprise me.”

I decided to take him to a burger joint round the corner that I knew would be pretty quiet so we started walking.

“So why did you run away yesterday?” he asked me as we walked down the street. 

Feeling my cheeks colour I decided I had nothing to lose by being honest. “I was embarrassed.” I admitted. “I don’t usually do that sort of thing.” 

Sal looked up at me and smiled. “Yeah, I figured as much.” 

“I warned you what happens when I drink too much tequila.” I joked, trying to cover my awkwardness.

“How about we forget all about it?” Sal suggested. “It can be like it never happened.” 

For the first time today I felt a real smile tug at my mouth. “I would like that.” 

By now we were at the restaurant so we asked the waitress if she would seat us somewhere quiet and slid into a booth where we quickly ordered something to eat and waited for our drinks. 

“So how long you lived in the city?” Sal asked me trying to break the ice.

I smiled, realising that he was trying to put me at ease and felt myself start to relax. “All my life.” I told him. “I’m at performing arts school now though so I have moved nearer to school with a friend.” 

“Wow.” Sal exclaimed. “What area do you want to go into?”

“Theater.” I answered. “I’ve just bagged the lead in Evita actually so things are looking good.”

“That’s amazing.” Sal answered. “I would love to see you perform some time.”

I blushed and looked down and was surprised when Sal reached over to take my hand. Luckily the waitress interrupted us by bringing our drinks so I pulled my hand away and reached to take a sip of my coke. 

“So how long you guys over here?” I asked curiously. 

“A few weeks actually.” He grinned. “We are filming over here.” 

My mouth fell open. I assumed they would be heading back in the next couple of days as soon as the shows finished. He went on to tell me that they had decided to do a series over here due to the popularity of the show and were here until the end of the month.

We chatted away over dinner and I found myself forgetting about the night before as Sal was charming and attentive and made sure to keep the conversation totally innocent. It was easy to forget his celebrity status and I found myself laughing at his jokes and flirting back with him like he was just a normal guy. 

He was in the middle of a story about his nieces when his phone rang and he took it out to see a picture of Q flashing up on the screen. I tried to keep my face neutral as my heart started to pound as I wondered if Q knew that Sal was with me. 

Sal quickly put the phone back in his pocket, switching it to silent before he did so and apologizing for the interruption before continuing with his story. I breathed a sigh of relief but couldn’t help being slightly disappointed that I wouldn’t be seeing Q again. 

Sal was lovely and I had to admit that while I was definitely attracted to him that it was Q that I had found myself thinking of all day. 

As the waitress came with the check I checked my phone and was surprised to see that it was getting late.

“I better be getting back.” I told Sal, surprised to find that I was actually disappointed. “I have an early dance class tomorrow.” 

“On a Saturday?” Sal questioned. 

“Need to stay at the top of my game.” I answered ruefully. 

“Mind if I walk you home?” he asked nervously, surprising me.

I looked at him and saw that he was waiting for my answer expectantly and didn’t have the heart to turn him down. Also, part of me didn’t want the night to end. “I get the tube from around the corner but you could walk me to the stop if you want.” 

Sal broke into a grin and placed some money down on the table before standing up and holding out my jacket for me. I offered to pay half but he shot me a look so I decided to leave it. 

As I took the jacket my hand brushed against his and the contact sent a thrill through me. I looked up into his eyes and noticed that he was holding his hand out and without thinking twice I intertwined my hand with his and gave him a smile. 

We set off down the street in comfortable silence until we saw the tube stop ahead of us. 

“So you working tomorrow night?” he asked me. 

I shook my head. “No, I’ve got the night off for a change.” I answered. “I have some work to catch up on.”

“We have a show tomorrow.” He told me. “Fancy coming along?” 

I went to shake my head and then realised that I would be stupid not to. I knew that tickets had sold out and were going online for a ridiculous amount of money and I knew that my flatmate would go mad if she knew that I had turned down the chance to go for free.

“Can I bring a mate?” I checked. 

Sal broke out into a grin and nodded his head. “Sure.” 

“In that case,” I said. “I would love to.” 

Sal threw his arm around me and pulled me into a quick hug as we approached the steps down to the tube. 

“I will leave 2 tickets at one of the collection points.” He said excitedly. “Give me your number and I’ll text you to tell you which desk to go to.”

I did as he asked and waited while he got his phone out and programmed in my number. Ringing me so that I had his number he offered me a smile. 

I grinned up at him after saving his number and putting my phone back in my bag. “Thanks, Sal.” I told him earnestly. “For dinner too.” 

As he looked down at me I could tell he was debating whether to kiss me or not and was stood there trying to judge my mood. A minute passed with him looking down awkwardly, his hands thrust into his pockets before I decided to take the decision out of his hands.

I leant up on my tiptoes and leaned towards him and saw his mouth curl into a smile before I touched my lips to his. He instantly pulled his hands out of his pocket and wound them round my waist. 

Everyone around us faded into the background as his lips caressed mine and I felt his breath wash over me in a sigh. It was over too soon.

Pulling back I opened my eyes only to see him grinning widely. 

“So tomorrow?” he checked as I looked to see people running down the tube steps and prepared to make a move.

“Tomorrow. Can’t wait.” I confirmed. “See you then.” 

With that I turned around and let a wide grin spread across my face. I reached for my headphones to stop me looking back and ran down the steps excitedly, turning up the volume of the song and letting the frantic beat of some upbeat music wash over me. As I sat on the tube I remembered the way we had been in the restaurant and marveled that someone so famous could be so normal.

True to his word he hadn’t mentioned the night before and it was easy to chalk it up to a drunken mistake. It wasn’t until I remembered his stories about filming the show that I let my thoughts stray to Q. While he was undeniably the one that I had been more attracted to at first Sal was really down to earth and had actually turned out to be a really nice guy. I tried not to worry that seeing Q again would be awkward and instead thought about how I was going to tell my flatmate Lily about the tickets.

In the end I decided to tell her that Sal had come into the bar and once we had got chatting and he heard that I was a fan he offered to have some tickets put behind the desk for me. Lily understandably freaked out and as she started talking about what to wear I tried to get caught up in her enthusiasm and keep my mind from going over the events from the night before. 

I knew she would lose her mind if I told her what happened so kept it to myself and simply explained that Sal was clearly a nice guy and wanted to do something nice for a fan. 

"Shame it wasn't Q that came in." she joked. "You could have tried to jump his bones." 

I rolled my eyes and shot her a look and quickly headed up to my room. "See you tomorrow." 

 

Waking up to my alarm I quickly pulled my hair up into a messy bun and put on my dance gear. I had been taking hip hop dance classes for the last 6 months and loved losing myself in the beat and working up a sweat. The studio was only around the corner so I grabbed my trainers and started out the door for the 5 minute walk. 

The class of 13 had been working on the same routine for a couple of weeks now and after a particularly successful morning we all sat down on the floor and took a breather. The hours flew by and as we all got back up to carry on I threw myself into the routines and blocked out all thoughts of Sal and Q and everything else that I had going on. I had always loved to dance and was almost sad when our instructor called time and agreed to see us all next week. 

I was in no rush to get back home, knowing that Lily would be bouncing around the flat excitedly so decided to call my family quick for a catch up before I headed out the door. 

It was 10 minutes later when I eventually headed through the doors out onto the street when I immediately saw Q sitting on a park bench across the road. He wasn’t looking at the door yet and I knew that I only had a matter of seconds before he looked over and saw me. I had just decided to head back inside and use the backdoor when he noticed me and jumped up off his seat and started to cross the road towards me.

Realising that I had no-where to go I looked down at my leggings and halter style crop town and ran a hand through my hair to feel that it was still damp with sweat.

Regretting the decision not to bring a jacket I tugged my top down and looked up to meet his eyes as he made his way over.

“How did you know I’d be here?” I asked as I realised belatedly that he had known where to find me. 

He had the good grace to look embarrassed. “I was waiting for the bar to open and when you weren’t there your friend told me.”

“Kelly?” I guessed gritting my teeth. 

He smiled and nodded. “I was in last night too but apparently I just missed you.” 

I gasped in shock but quickly covered myself and looked up into his impossibly brown eyes. “Why?” I asked incredulously, managing to find my voice.

“I had to see you again.” He told me running a hand through his wayward hair. “You looked so upset when you ran out.”

I didn’t know what to say but Brian took my hand and started to coax me towards the park over the road. “Can we at least sit down and talk?”

I shrugged and let him lead me to a park bench, hardly daring to look up at him. We sat down and I took my hand out of his, running it quickly over my still damp hair before letting it fall into my lap.

“I don’t want you to think I planned what happened.” He told me earnestly. “It was totally unexpected.” 

I dared to look up at him and saw that he was watching me. “I know.” I admitted with a sigh. “I just had to get out of there. I really don’t do that kind of thing.”

Brian attempted to take my hand and I let him, my heartbeat accelerating as his eyes roamed up and down my body. “Can we start again?” he asked, echoing Sal’s words from last night. “How about you come to the show tonight?”

I gulped and realised that he didn’t know that I had been out with Sal last night. “I am coming tonight.” I admitted.

Brian looked confused and his brows pulled together as he met my eyes. “I thought you didn’t have tickets.” 

I pulled my hands out of his and cleared my throat nervously, looking down at the floor. “Sal came to see me last night.” I mumbled. “He asked me if I wanted to come tonight.” 

I looked up to see Q staring at me, mouth wide open. “That’s where he was?” 

I didn’t know what to say so laughed nervously. “I guess so.” 

His face contorted but he retained his composure quickly and stood up. “Well I guess I will see you later.” He told me, turning around and starting to walk away.

“Brian, wait!” I burst out, standing up and reaching out for his arm. “This is all so unexpected. I don’t want things to be awkward.” 

He pulled his arm away and took a step back before he offered me a tight smile. “It won’t be.” He replied. “I’ll see you later.” 

As I watched him turn and walk briskly back towards the main road I sat back down on the bench and watched him go, head spinning. It was all so strange. I had expected to leave the hotel room and never have to see either of them again, well not in the flesh at least and now to be confronted by both of them, well what was I supposed to do?

Doing what I always did and burying my head in the sand I pushed everything to the back of my mind, climbed up off the bench and decided to take the long way home and try to push everything out of mind. I didn’t see Brian look back and watch me as I plugged in my headphones and broke into a run.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Layla and her friend attend a show and things start to heat up between her and one of the guys...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments so far :)

Lily looked me up and down and whistled. “You look smokin’ hot!” she told me grinning. 

I looked in the mirror at my skinny black jeans and the floaty white top that fell over my shoulders, leaving one bare. I was aiming to look sexy without being too obvious. Paired with a simple pair of white flats with my long hair left loose I had to agree that I looked pretty good.

Lily checked her phone and decided that it was time to go so I followed her out the door and I slyly rechecked the text message Sal had sent me earlier. 

“Tickets are at the main entrance. Just tell them your name. I can’t wait to see you. Sal x’

The venue was a short tube ride from the flat and I tried to forget what had happened this morning with Q as Lily went on excitedly about how lucky we were to get tickets to a show that had sold out in minutes. As my heartbeat got steadily faster and faster we found ourselves at the entrance and I was shocked when we were handed a set of tickets that were clearly for the front row.

Lily looked over my shoulder and grabbed them out of my hands. 

“Row A?” she exclaimed. “Fucking hell Layla!”

I grinned back at her but felt my palms grow clammy on realising that we were going to be super close to the stage. 

Lily dragged me to the bar where we ordered a couple of pints before heading past the rows of people until we found our seats. There were slightly off to the side and Lily pointed excitedly at a mic stand directly in front of us. Knowing that this would be where Sal took his place I took a couple of deep breaths and looked around us at the auditorium. 

I tuned Lily out as she rambled on whilst the venue filled with fans and after a while I pulled out my phone to check the time and saw it was 2 minutes after the time they were due on the stage. As if I had summoned them the lights went down and the crowd broke into applause. A screen came down at the back of the stage and rolled a video of some of the funniest bits from the show and I couldn’t help but laugh along. 

As the video wound down a loud voice announced them each individually and they came bounding out from the side of the stage. Lily grabbed my arm as Sal came to stand in front of us and looked down at me, shooting me a wink before breaking into a wide grin.

“Did he just fucking wink at you?” Lily asked wide eyed.

I grinned and returned my attention to the stage but couldn’t help my eyes being drawn to Q. As the guys launched into their routines I realised with a jolt of regret that he was purposefully not looking at me. He was looking everywhere but down where me and Lily were sat and I knew that this was on purpose. Meanwhile Sal couldn’t stop looking down and kept shooting winks and smiles my way every chance he got.

It seemed like mere minutes later when the guys started to thank the crowd and promise that they would be back soon. As Joe was talking to the crowd Sal grinned at me and gestured for me to check my phone. 

I quickly pulled out my phone and saw that I had a text waiting. 

‘You look incredible x.’ 

I grinned back at him, mouthing my thanks before turning to see that Q was looking right at me. I didn’t have time to meet his eyes because he swiftly turned his head away from me and bounded to the front of the stage, where he joined Joe in telling the crowd how amazing they had been.

Forgetting that my phone was out I winced when Lily tugged on my arm. 

“He has your fucking phone number?” she exclaimed. 

I shrugged, trying to play it cool and put my phone back in my pocket, looking back at the stage to see the guys come together and take a bow. As Sal stood right in front of us and waved out at the crowd, meeting people’s eyes and smiling Lily leaned into my ear to be heard over the crowd. 

“He is so sexy in real life.” She said wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. 

I laughed and stood up with the rest of the crowd as the guys made to exit the stage to rapturous applause. 

As they headed back where they had come from and disappeared behind the curtain Lily turned to me to see me looking wistfully at the stage. “I think you need to tell me what is going on.” 

I stilled as she looked at me, the look in her eyes telling me she wouldn’t quit until I told her all there was to know. 

I linked arms with her and joined the rest of the crowd in heading towards the nearest exit.

“Let’s go and get a drink.” I stalled.

We decided on a busy club only a few minutes’ walk from the venue and quickly bought drinks before finding a table some distance away from the dance floor so that we didn’t have to shout to be heard. 

“So he turned up this morning?” she asked referring to Q, after I had spilled the whole sorry story and got to the part where he had showed up after my dance class. “What did you say?” 

“What could I say?” I exclaimed taking a long pull of my mojito. “He fucking did one before I had chance!” 

“This is fucking mental, Lay.” Lily retorted. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me sooner?” 

I gulped more of my drink and looked up at her sheepishly. “I didn’t want you to think bad of me.”

Lily pulled me close and threw her arms around me. “Jesus, babe,” she replied. “We have all been there. I’ve had quite a few threesomes actually.”

I looked at her shocked only to find her smiling at me as she sipped daintily from a glass of wine. 

“Really?” I asked shocked. 

She nodded and shot me a grin, motioning down at her perfect dancers’ body and undeniably beautiful face. She was of Italian heritage and you could tell to look at her, her dark looks lending her a mysterious quality. “I’ve got a lot of love to give.” She joked. 

As I laughed I noticed that my phone was flashing and turned the screen on to see a text flashing from Sal.

‘Fancy another cocktail?’ It read.

I slyly turned my phone screen off and covered my mouth with my glass before looking around the bar trying to spot him.

“He’s here.” I told her trying not to bring too much attention to myself.

“What?” Lily asked leaning closer towards me.

Suddenly a shadow fell over the table. 

“I think she said, ‘He’s here.’” Sal said, standing next to the table. 

Lily’s head whipped round to look at him to find him looking down at me with a grin.

“We are all in the VIP area.” He told us meeting my eyes. “Fancy coming to join us?” 

Lily stood up and offered him a smile, trying to act normal. “We would love to.” She answered shooting me a look that said she wasn’t going to take no for an answer. 

Sal stuck a hand out. “Nice to meet you, Lily.” 

Lily visibly simpered. “Likewise.” She managed, turning to pull me out of my seat. “Lead the way.”

As I stood up Sal leaned in and leant in to drop a kiss on my cheek and reached round to place his hand at the small of my back, the contact sending a jolt through me, leading us towards some doors at the back of the club.

As we stepped inside I looked around and realised that the VIP area made the rest of the club look shabby. There were velvet covered seats surrounding private booths and a glass aquarium style bar filled with tropical fish that ran the length of the room. Several well-dressed waiters and waitresses walked round taking orders so that people didn’t have to go up to the bar unless they wanted to.

“Oh how the other half lives.” Lily muttered as we were led towards several booths at the back of the room.

As we approached the table I saw that there were about a dozen people and while Murr and Joe were there Q was nowhere to be seen. 

I visibly relaxed and let Sal introduce us to Joe and Murr and the rest of the group, who I guessed from the accents, were the rest of their crew.

As Joe and Murr shook my hand I looked at Lily and saw that she was open mouthed. I shot her a look and took a seat next to Murr, who was gesturing for us to sit down. 

“So what did you ladies think of the show?” he asked as Sal took a seat next to me and slung his arm casually around my shoulders.

“It was hilarious.” Lily managed, finding her voice. 

Looking around the bar as Lily joked around with the guys I noticed that nestled in a table next to us, full of women I could only assume to be models, sat Q. As I spotted him I realised that he was watching me but as I tried to meet his eyes he turned his head and whispered something into the ear of the girl next to him, who immediately threw back a head full of blonde hair and laughed. 

I turned back to the table, trying to ignore the sense of jealousy that coursed through me, just as Sal’s hand reached down to land at my thigh.

“Everything ok?” he leaned in and whispered into my ear.

I looked up into his eyes and smiled. “Of course.” I told him. “Thanks again for the tickets. The seats were incredible.” 

He reached up and swiped a wayward strand of my hair off my face and I leaned into his touch, forgetting where we were. “It’s the least I could do.” He whispered.

All of a sudden the music jumped up in volume and I noticed instantly that it was Lily’s favourite song. 

Anticipating what was coming next I turned to look at her just in time for her face to light up. 

“I love this song!” she shouted, jumping out of her seat. “Come on Lay, we are dancing.”

I shot Sal a grin as she grabbed my hand and dragged me to the dancefloor, where there was already a sizeable crowd gathered dancing.

We instantly started to move to the music and not even a minute had passed when I felt 2 arms snake around my waist. Looking around and seeing that it was Sal behind me I stifled a stab of disappointment and tried to ignore the empty feeling in the pit of my stomach as he started to move his body with mine. Noticing that Murr had come over to dance with Lily so that she wouldn’t be left out I felt eyes on me and knew without looking that it was Brian. Determined not to let him get to me I threw myself into the song and moved my body with Sal’s, looking up from beneath my lashes to meet his eyes. 

We danced for a few songs but after a while I decided that I needed to pee so asked Sal where the toilets were and headed off in the direction he had pointed me. I had to walk past the table full of women but taking a deep breath and daring to look I noticed that Q wasn’t there. Attempting to make my way through the throng of bodies I came to a stop seeing that Q was in fact standing at the side of the club, his arms around the waist of the girl he had been joking with, his head positioned close to her ear.

As she noticed me watching them her posture changed and Q obviously felt her stiffen and turned to see what had caught her attention. This time his eyes actually met mine and my heart started to pound. I quickly resumed walking and had no choice but to head past them, head held high as I escaped into the plush bathroom. 

Walking over to the sink I looked in the mirrors and saw that my cheeks were flushed from dancing and a few strands of my hair clung limply to my forehead.  
Smartening myself up and getting ready to face Q and the girl again I quickly dabbed some lip gloss onto my lips and turned towards the doors that would take me back into the club only to see the girl Q had been draped all over stride in confidently and come to a standstill when she saw me. 

“I saw you watching us.” She said conversationally. “Don’t even think of making a move.”

My mouth opened as I thought of something to say but she wasn’t done. “I’ve been waiting a long time to net someone like him,” she carried on. “So stay the fuck away.” 

I stepped towards her, debating whether to say something back but I realised that it wasn’t worth it and strode past her, opening the door and quickly making my way back through to the club.

I had only just heard the door close behind me when a hand came out of nowhere and pulled me into a dark corner just around the corner from the bathrooms.

Knowing who I would see when I looked up I braced myself and took a deep breath.

“What?” I asked impatiently looking up into Q’s gaze.

“I’m sorry.” He told me. “I didn’t…” 

“Sorry for what?” I replied, not able to keep the bitchy tone out of my voice. I was still stung from the way he had left so suddenly this morning and wasn’t going to forgive him in a hurry. “You didn’t do anything wrong.” 

With that I shrugged out of his hold and quickly made my way back down to the table, dying to look back and see if he was still there watching me but not wanting to give him the satisfaction. 

I saw that Lily was sat with the guys and that they were all laughing at something she was saying. Grinning, knowing how she loved to be the centre of attention I slid in next to Sal and took the cocktail from his outstretched hand. 

“Thanks.” I muttered, offering him a smile. 

I had just taken a sip when Q appeared at the table with the girl from the bathroom. He introduced her to the group and we all shuffled around to make room for Brian and the girl, whose name was Abbie. Trying not to watch them I noticed that she had reached down and was caressing his leg under the table. Grimacing at the stab of pain that lanced through me I turned to Sal and leaned into his ear. 

“Fancy a dance?” I asked him desperate to be away from the table.

Sal grinned and we jumped up from the table and headed to the dancefloor and had just found a space when the music slowed significantly. 

I grinned and let him put his arms around me and pull me close, our bodies moving slowly in time with the song. 

“Having a good time?” I asked, trying to keep my eyes off of Q and Abbie, who once again had her head thrown back as she laughed at something Q had whispered to her.

Sal reached up and run a finger down the side of my face and I was surprised to feel a shiver of apprehension run through me. Suddenly I forgot all about Q and Abbie as Sal leaned into me and met my lips in the gentlest of kisses. 

I let all thoughts of Q drift away as Sal caressed my tongue with his and tenderly nibbled on my bottom lip. It was a few minutes before we broke apart and I noticed that my pulse had quickened and my breath was coming in pants. 

“What do you think?” he asked me softly.

The kiss had scrambled my mind and I forgot t care what question he was answering as I pulled him close so that our bodies nestled next to each other. I could feel the evidence of his arousal at my hip as we swayed to the last of the song and sighed in pleasure as his hands ran trails up and down my back through the cotton of my top.

As the song ended and we headed back towards the table I steeled myself to see Abbie all over Q but let out a sigh of relief on seeing that they were nowhere to be seen.

We reached the table and Sal excused himself to go to the bathroom and Lily quickly took her chance and moved over to lean into my ear.

“So… Sal it is then?” she questioned. “I saw you making out.”

I blushed and looked down but couldn’t help smiling. “He is totally different from the other night,” I told her. “It’s like it never even happened.”

Lily ran a hand down my arm and offered me a smile. “I’m glad sweetie,” she replied. “It’s nice to see you smiling.”

As Sal appeared back at the table he took a seat beside me and called out to Joe and Murr. “Where’s Quinn got to?” 

Joe looked around as if only just realising that he was no longer at the table. “Dunno.”

Murr grinned at us all and wiggled his eyebrows. “I think he said something about going back to the hotel with that blonde.”

I tried to ignore the pain I felt on hearing that he had left with her but made sure that my face stayed composed. Lily caught my eye and lifted her eyebrows but I quickly turned away and reached for another drink, gulping it down in one go to quell the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. 

What the hell was wrong with me? I had turned up with Sal and couldn’t be mad that Q had decided to occupy himself with someone else, could I? It wasn’t like we had any ties and I really shouldn’t be surprised after what had happened earlier in the park and the cold shoulder I had gotten on telling him that I had spent time with Sal.

Deciding to make an effort to stop thinking about it I grabbed for another drink, determined to have a good time and was surprised when the rest of the night passed in a blur of laughter and dancing. I actually found myself having a good time and without Q there to distract me I found myself flirting more and more with Sal as our touches became bolder and more obvious.

It seemed like no time at all had passed when Murr jumped up, putting his phone in his pocket and explaining drunkenly that he should be heading back. I looked at my phone and saw that it was actually nearing 2am. 

“Fancy coming back to the hotel for a drink?” Sal asked me, running his hand up and down my thigh in lazy circles.

I took a breath and was about to decline his offer when I realised that I didn’t want to. I nodded and offered him a wink and turned to Lily to make sure that she was going to be alright making her way home alone. 

“Sure thing darling.” She slurred. “I’ll grab a taxi.”

Knowing that she would be ok because the flat was only a short distance away, we all got up out of our seats and a few minutes later I found myself in the back of a black cab with Sal, after waving goodbye to the others. We joked and laughed around until we pulled up at the hotel and Sal jumped out, holding the door open for me. 

I climbed out unsteadily and took his outstretched hand and let him lead me into the lobby. The elevator ride passed in a blur as we shared sly glances and smiles and we soon ended up in front of his hotel room. Seeing that it was the other side of the hotel from the room we had been in together the other night I let out a sigh of relief and walked through the door as soon as Sal had opened it.

No sooner had we got into the room when I felt his arms wind around my waist to pull me close as his lips landed at my neck. All thoughts of Q flew out of mind as I leaned back into Sal’s embrace and heard his passionate whisper.

“You smell so fucking good.” 

I grinned and reached around behind me to fumble for the bottom of his t-shirt, before spinning around to grab hold of it properly to yank it over his head. He quickly did the same to me and pulled my top over my head as we walked backwards together, kicking off our shoes until the back of my legs hit the bed and I tumbled backwards.

Laughing I looked up at him and saw that he was looking down at me, lust clouding his eyes. 

“So sexy.” He mumbled before lowering his body onto mine. 

I scraped my nails down his back as his lips landed on mine and his hands made their way up to run through my hair. I arched into his embrace and his kisses became more passionate as I felt his cock stiffening between my legs. Moaning my encouragement I let his lips trail down to my shoulder as I reached down between us to find the buttons of his jeans. 

My greedy hands found the buttons in no time and I quickly undid them, groaning as I felt how hard he already was for me. 

“Feel what you do to me?” he moaned as my hands slid over the material covering his cock.

I grinned up at him before shaking my hips to signal that he should do the same to me and he instantly reached down and tugged at the zip of my jeans so that I could wriggle out of them. 

As my jeans landed on the floor his kisses resumed and he ran his hands over my breasts. I reached around and pulled down his boxers so that he was naked before me and reached for his throbbing cock. 

“So fucking hard.” I muttered starting to slide my hands up and down his length. 

Sal threw his head back briefly before pulling back to watch me while I worked my hands up and down his shaft before stopping me and leaning down to pull my panties off. I reached around and quickly unhooked my bra and shrugged out of it until I was naked too and could pull him close so that I could feel his skin against mine. 

By this time our kisses were scorching and I groaned as Sal reached down and took one of my nipples deftly in between his fingers. Throwing back my head I moaned aloud again and closed my eyes as he used his hands to caress every inch of my body between my neck and my navel. Feeling impatient I pulled back and looked pointedly down at his aching erection, making my intentions clear.

He quickly reached down into his pockets and pulled out a condom as I took a deep breath and tried to calm my racing heart.

“Foregone conclusion was I?” I grinned.

“A guy can hope.” He retorted with a grin, ripping the wrapper impatiently with his teeth and wasting no time in rolling it over his hard-on.

As he threw the wrapper to the floor and pulled my legs so that they were hanging over the edge of the bed I looked up at him, bottom lip in between my teeth as I nodded my head.

He met my eyes and his mouth broke into a smile before slamming inside of me in one brutal thrust. I couldn’t help but moan and let my eyes flutter closed as he pushed every inch of his cock inside of me until he was buried to the hilt. Giving me a second to get used to the feeling of fullness he grabbed my thighs and started to pull out of me before slamming back inside me and cursing. 

“You are so fucking hot.”

I felt my pulse quicken and reached around his back to trail my hands down to his ass, grabbing the surprisingly hard muscle I found there and urging him even deeper inside me. 

In no time he had found his rhythm and I felt my core clench as he pistoned in and out of me without mercy as I angled my hips up to meet his thrusts. I watched as he screwed his face up as he concentrated on working himself in and out of me and saw a bead of sweat bead on his upper lip. Reaching up to wipe it from his lip I run my fingers over his lips and watched as they curved into a grin.

As he slowed down his pace after a couple of minutes I pulled away from him and urged him onto the bed. As soon as his back hit the mattress I climbed on top of him and positioned myself above his straining erection. 

Lowering myself down onto him as slowly and teasingly as I could I was rewarded when his mouth fell open and his eyes closed as he grabbed my hands to steady me as I started to move up and down on top of him. 

Watching him fall apart beneath me spurred me on and I bounced up and down as he reached down to caress the sensitive spot in between my legs.

“God keep doing that.” I moaned as I felt myself clench and ripple around him. 

My body started to quiver and I knew that I wasn’t going to last much longer and opened my eyes to watch him as he ground his hips in time with mine and rubbed my clit.

As my orgasm overcame me and shock-waves began to course through me I threw my body down over his and bit down lightly on his shoulder to stifle a cry. The stab of pain was enough to send him over the edge and he gripped my hips as his legs shuddered and he emptied himself inside me. 

“Holy shit.” He managed as my heartbeat started to slow and I pulled myself off of him and collapsed next to him on the pillows. 

I grinned at him and reached out to wipe a bead of sweat off of his forehead before leaning in to meet his lips in a wet kiss.

“You are amazing.” He told me watching as I pulled myself up onto my elbow so that I was facing him. 

“You ain’t so bad yourself.” I replied with a smile. 

He pulled me closer to him and I sighed as I rested my head on his chest and he reached down to pull the sheet over us both.

“I need a shower.” He told me after a few minutes of silence, in which we both got our breath back.

“Care to join me?” he grinned.

I met his gaze and saw that he had one eyebrow raised in expectation. “Sure.” I told him, making to get up off the bed.

Surprising me he jumped up off the mattress before I had chance to get up and proceeded to pull me to the edge of the bed before pulling me up into his arms with ease and throwing me over his shoulder.

I couldn’t help but giggle as he smacked my ass, making his way to the bathroom before placing me into the shower. As he turned the nozzle and the water started to rush over me I grinned seeing him kneel down and pull me towards him. As his face neared the juncture between my legs I threw my head back and let his tongue make me forget everything apart from the pleasure coursing out from my centre and the hot water cascading over my body…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I can really run with this one. Things are about to get complicated...


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Layla spends more time with Sal but can't quite manage to stay away from Q...

The second the front door closed behind me I heard footsteps and was not surprised to see Lily run around the corner to pounce on me. She grabbed my hand, threw my bag down on the floor and pulled me into the front room, before reaching for an envelope on the table and thrusting it at me.

She stood watching me as I opened it and took out a single sheet of paper. 

‘I’m sorry about last night. I don’t know what to say. I guess it bothered me more than I thought it would seeing it you with Sal. B x’

I looked up at Lily and saw her watching me expectantly before looking back down at the envelope. My name was written on the front in bold writing and I realised something and looked up at Lily in shock.

“Was he here?” I asked incredulously. 

She nodded and pulled me onto the sofa. “What the fuck Lay.” She exclaimed pulling the note out of my hand and hurriedly reading it.

We sat in silence for a couple of minutes but eventually I looked up and met my friend’s eyes. “This is so fucked up.” I muttered, not even knowing where to start.

“Not really.” Lily stated bluntly. “Looks like you have a choice.” 

My mouth gaped. “It isn’t that simple.” I bit back.

“Why not?” Lily asked with a shake of her head.

“I slept with Sal last night.” I admitted lowering my head into my hands. 

She grimaced and pulled me towards her so that I could rest my head on her legs as she stroked my hair. 

“Baby girl,” she started. “You have to be honest, with yourself and with them.”

“What did he even say when he turned up?” I asked, wondering how the hell he had found out where I lived. I knew instantly that it was probably Kelly from the bar. She had a big mouth and would have put 2 and 2 together and realised that Q was the ‘B’ that had sent me the flowers.

“He asked for you and then when I said you weren’t here he asked me to give you the note.” Lily replied. “I’m surprised you didn’t see him, this was like 5 minutes ago.”

I jumped up off the sofa and looked at the giant clock that hung behind our modest television, deciding to head out and see if I could find him. I shouted to Lily that I would be back soon and headed out to the street where I jogged swiftly to both ends of the road but he was no-where to be seen. 

I walked back into the flat and Lily patted the space next to her on the sofa but I shook my head.

“I don’t have time for this.” I mumbled. “I need to get ready for work.”

 

I was just getting off shift when I reached into my bag only to feel it vibrate. 

‘Got comp tickets for a show tonight. Fancy it? Sal x’

I grinned and tried to forget the envelope burning a hole on the table back home as I typed out a reply.

‘Just got off work. Can be ready in an hour. Meet you at the tube station?’

As I sent off the text I headed out the back door to avoid having to speak to Kelly again. I knew it wasn’t her fault and that Q would have managed to track me down eventually but I had bawled her out and told her in no uncertain terms never to give my details out ever again, no matter who it was doing the asking.

As my phone vibrated again I read the message telling me that Sal would be there in just over an hour and picked up speed as I headed for home. 

Lily shook her head when I told her my plans and I tried to ignore her pointed look as I headed to my room to get changed. I quickly showered and put on some clean clothes before heading back out into the front room and shrugging into my jacket. 

“Fancy drinks later?” I asked her as I made sure that I had everything I needed in my bag.

“Sure,” she agreed surrounded by coursework and papers. “Just let me know where.”

I leaned down and pecked her cheek before heading towards the tube and making an effort to put Q’s note out of my mind. 

Feeling slightly nervous I walked up the steps into the street that housed all the theaters and looked for Sal. As I saw him lounging against the railings I forget my nerves and let him pull me close. 

“You look great.” He told me taking my hand and starting to walk down the street.

Looking down at my simple black top and stonewashed jeans I grinned and looked up at him. “Thanks.” I blushed.

As we stopped outside a theater and looked up I broke into a smile seeing that he had brought me to watch Evita. 

“I hope this is ok.” He rushed nervously. “One of the crew got given tickets but couldn’t make it.” 

“It’s my favourite.” I told him leaning up on my tiptoes to press a quick kiss to his lips. 

With that he broke into a smile and pulled me up to the desk where he handed over our tickets and then looked around to see where we had to go to find our seats. I had seen this show a hundred times but never tired of it and was surprised when Sal led me towards the stairs that led up to the balconies. 

As we walked through the doors that led to our seats I saw that we actually had a whole balcony to ourselves and grinned seeing that these seats were indeed as good as they looked. I had always wondered what it would be like to sit in one of these and I wasn’t disappointed. 

I sat down in one of the plush seats and rested my arms on the balcony, looking below us to where you could see the band setting up. “These seats are incredible.” I said looking over to the stage. 

“I know, right.” Sal agreed looking around us at the crowded auditorium. 

It wasn’t long before the show started and as I had done a hundred times before I let myself get drawn into the story and forget where I was until the curtain fell and an announcer stated that there was a 20 minute interval before the next act.

I looked beside me to see Sal smiling and reached out to grab his hand. “Thanks for this.” I muttered. “I really do love this show.” 

Sal laughed and pulled me towards him until he had my face in his hands. “I can tell.” He replied softly. “I’ve never seen anyone so transfixed before.”

I smiled and leaned forward and met his lips in a soft kiss. He immediately snaked his arms around my shoulders and pulled me closer and parted his lips before reaching out his tongue to meet mine. 

Just then the doors swung open and a waiter came in carrying an ice cream tray but saw us and quickly returned where he had come from, blushing madly and stuttering out an apology.

Laughing I pulled back as Sal put his arm around my shoulder, allowing me to lean into his embrace. 

“We have an appearance at a club tonight,” he told me. “Will you come with me?”

I looked into his eyes and couldn’t find a reason to say no, not least because I didn’t want to.

“I’d love to.” I answered honestly and leaned in towards him for another kiss.

Realising that we didn’t have long before the next act I jumped up. “I’m going to get some ice cream.” I told him, not wanting to tell him that I would also nip and get some tissues. This show never failed to move me to tears.

As I came back and the lights went down again I let him pull me close and settled into his embrace. The second act was my favourite and I felt my eyes fill with tears as the story progressed. 

Watching the actress on the stage I prayed that one day that would be me. As my tears fell freely and the emotion of the show became too much I smiled as Sal reached for the tissue in my hand and wiped the tears from my eyes. 

The show soon came to an end and the lights came back up as the curtain came down and I turned to Sal with a smile. “Thanks again.” I told him wiping my eyes one last time. 

He grinned and reached for my hand, pulling me out of the doors and down the stairs before finding an exit and stepping back into the street.

As I pulled my phone out and remembered that I had to text Lily I looked up at Sal to find him watching me. 

“Ok if Lily tags along tonight?” I checked.

Sal nodded, looking down at his own phone as I shot her a text message telling her where we would be. 

“We can go and get her if you want.” He told me. 

I grinned and quickly sent another text, telling her we would be round to get her shortly before having a thought. 

“Have we got time to eat?” I asked.

Sal nodded. “Sure,” he told me. “We don’t have to be at the club for a while yet.”

I quickly text my flatmate once again and asked if she had time to whip up something to eat before we headed out to which she replied that she would knock something up.

We soon reached my flat, having flagged down a taxi straight away and as I walked up the steps and pulled my keys out my bag I prayed that Lily had made sure the place was presentable. 

I sighed in relief seeing that the flat was tidy and briefly showed Sal round the flat before heading into the kitchen where Lily was stirring something on top of the cooker. 

“Hey.” She greeted with a smile. “I hope you’re hungry.” 

Sal walked over to her and looked nosily into the pan she was stirring. “Smells great.” 

I smiled, knowing that she was cooking her specialty pasta and went to get cutlery out of the cupboard before setting 3 places at our small dining table.As I looked up I saw that Sal was standing on front of the fridge-freezer, which was covered with pictures of the 2 of us. 

Laughing he pointed at one of us sprawled on the sofa, my face scrunched up in laughter as Lily tickled me. 

“Cute.” He muttered, his eyes taking in the many photos of us.

I stood next to him and let my eyes roam over the pictures that made up the last couple of years of our lives. Seeing myself through his eyes I couldn’t deny that I could never be described as average but I couldn’t believe that he seemed so interested in someone like me. Then there was Q…

Breaking me out of my thoughts Lily handed us both a plate and we all sat down around the table. 

“This is amazing.” Sal told her on putting a forkful of her creamy tomato pasta in his mouth. 

“Italian mother.” She mumbled around a mouthful, in explanation.

I grinned as the 2 of them started talking about Italy, where both of their families hailed from. Dinner passed in a blur of laughter and wine and I was surprised when Sal pulled his phone out of his pocket and told us that we better get going or we would be late.

It was half 9 and they were due to be on stage at 10. It was only a personal appearance, so they would only be on stage about half an hour but it was good for publicity and they were getting paid handsomely. 

It wasn’t until we were back in the back of a cab that I worried about seeing Q. I prayed that I wouldn’t have to spend even a minute alone with him because I had really enjoyed this evening with Sal and didn’t want things to get any more complicated. 

As we pulled up outside the club a rep was on hand and met us at the door and ushered us around the side of the club and through a couple of doors until we got to what was clearly the VIP area at the back of the club. It wasn’t as fancy as the one last night but there was a table full of drinks and I quickly picked up a bottle of beer and took a long swig knowing that shortly I would see Q. 

I hadn’t even put my beer back on the table when I felt someone’s eyes on me. 

I looked up and saw that he was right in front of me. Lily reached down to squeeze my hand and seeing that Sal was speaking to someone towards the main area of the club and wouldn’t be able to hear us she made herself scarce, shooting me a pointed look before she walked over to where Joe and Murr were standing. 

“Hey.” I whispered, my heart pounding as I looked up into his eyes.

“Did you get my note?” he asked.

I nodded and licked my lips, taking a pull of my beer before answering. “There is no need to say sorry.” I told him. “You haven't done anything wrong.” 

He reached out to put a hand on the top of my arm and leaned in towards me. “I have acted like a jack-ass.” He admitted. “I’ve handled this all wrong.” 

I opened my mouth to say something but quickly closed my mouth seeing that Sal was walking towards us. As soon as he reached us he put his arm around my shoulders territoriality, leaning down to drop a kiss on my cheek.

“You alright?” he asked me.

I looked up to see the 2 of them looking at me and tried to ignore my racing heartbeat. 

“Sure.” I answered making quick work of the beer I had left. As soon as I finished I reached over for another one and looked up and was relieved to see that Lily was heading our way holding a tray full of shots.

“Bottoms up.” She exclaimed, clearly trying to break the tension, passing us all a glass.

Seeing that it was tequila I saw that Q was trying to hide a smile and felt my cheeks colour as I made short work of it and slammed it down on the table.

“Don’t let Layla have too many of these.” Lily joked once she had downed her shot and put the glass back on the table besides mine. “She gets crazy on too much tequila.”

Q had only just swallowed his and instantly broke into a laugh, causing the liquid to come flying back out of his mouth as he struggled to quell his snorts. I saw Sal’s eyes grow wide and felt my cheeks flame as I looked at Lily staring wide eyed at Brian. 

“Everything ok?” she asked him.

He looked at me pointedly before looking back to Lily. “Sure,” he answered smoothly. “It just went down the wrong way.” 

Thankfully a rep choose that moment to come and tell the guys that they were due on stage. I breathed a sigh of relief as Sal pecked me on the cheek and they wandered off towards the main club. 

“What was that about?” Lily asked as soon as they were out of ear shot. 

I looked at her and rolled my eyes. “Let’s just say they already know who wild I get when I drink tequila.” 

Lily roared with laughter until she saw my look. “Sorry babe.” She said trying to catch her breath. “You have to admit , that was funny.”

I shot her another look and reached for a bottle of beer only for her to do the same and start to pull me towards the double doors guarded by a big burly bouncer that led to the part of the club where the guys would be appearing.

“Come on.” She urged. “I want to watch.”

I rolled my eyes as she dragged me with her and we ended up standing towards the back of a dancefloor packed with people waiting to see the guys.

“What did he say to you anyway?” she asked knowing that I would know that she was talking about Q.

“Just that he had handled this all wrong apparently.” I told her with a shrug. 

“What does that mean?” she replied raising my eyebrows.

I took a long gulp of my drink before meeting her eyes. “How am I supposed to know?” 

It was then that the crowd around us started to cheer and we looked up to see the guys walk onto a make-shift stage in front of the DJ booth. They launched into one of their skits from the live shows and bantered back and forth with the crowd but before long they started to wind down and thank everyone for showing up. 

We decided to head back to the VIP room before the crowd started to disperse so we quickly skirted everyone stood on the dancefloor and returned to our table.  
I reached for one of the shots still on the table and threw it down my neck knowing that the guys would be back soon and needing to calm my nerves. 

Lily caught my eye and gave me another look but I ignored her and washed the taste of the tequila down with some beer.

“On a mission to get wasted are we?” she couldn’t help commenting.

“Piss off.” I told her with a grin, noticing that the guys were heading back to the table. 

Before they had chance to get back to the table they were stopped by a bunch of women who were clearly fans of the shows and I smiled as I watched them all being gracious and posing for photos before making their excuses and heading back towards us. 

“Hey.” Sal grinned before sliding next to me and reaching for a beer. 

“Hey Mr Celebrity, can I have a picture?” I joked looking up at him from underneath my lashes. 

He laughed before taking out his phone. “Sure you can pretty lady.” 

He swiped to turn his phone on and clicked it on to camera mode before throwing an arm around me and lifting his other hand up to take the picture. I looked up to smile into the camera and couldn’t help seeing that Q was watching us from the bar. 

Our eyes met and I watched as one his eyebrows arched as Sal clicked a couple of pictures. I turned my attention back to Sal and looked down at the screen and saw that while Sal was beaming into the screen I was clearly looking off at the bar, a wry smile playing at my mouth.

“That’s a keeper.” Sal said from next to me. 

I attempted to smile but knew that it didn’t meet my eyes as I felt Q’s gaze on me from across the room and tried in vain to ignore it. Reaching across for one of the many drinks on the table I picked up a shot and prayed that it wasn’t tequila as I threw it back with a grimace. 

Lily appeared beside us with Murr and saw me placing the glass back on the table and threw up her hands in mock despair.

“You started without us.” She accused reaching over the table and handing out another round of shots as Q came and joined us at the table. 

I avoided his eyes and let Lily hand me a glass before joining everyone in knocking them back. We chatted and joked for a while, getting steadily louder as the drinks kicked in. I had lost track of time and didn’t have a clue what time it was when I stood up and decided that I wanted to dance for a while. Lily, Murr and Joe joined me and we made our way over to the dancefloor and made some room.

The guys were really down to earth and I forgot to be nervous around them as the alcohol worked its magic and I felt myself relax as we danced and messed around, drawing more than a few stares from the people around us.

At least half an hour had passed when I decided to head back to the table to grab a drink to quench my thirst before heading to the bathroom.

I grinned seeing that there were a group of guys stood around the table that were clearly fans and as Murr and Joe returned the group of lads got their phones out and asked for some pictures. I reached over for a beer and took a long swig before catching Sal’s eye and motioning towards the toilets. He nodded and grinned, before turning his attention back to the fans. 

I escaped into the toilets and quickly used one of the cubicles before coming out and standing in front of the mirror, looking at my reflection and seeing that the shots had clearly got to me as my cheeks were flushed and my eyes were brighter than normal. 

I heard the door open and was just about to pick up my bag when I realised that whoever had walked in had stopped still just inside the door. 

I looked up to find Q stood in front of me watching me. 

“You can’t be in here.” I mumbled taking a step back as he walked towards me. 

‘I don’t care.” He told me.

“What if someone comes…” I protested and at that same moment we both turned to look at the door as we heard loud voices approaching the bathroom.

I grabbed Q and shoved him into the nearest cubicle hurriedly and was just able to step inside with him and shut the door before 2 girls walked in and started chatting excitedly in front of the mirrors.

I leaned my head back on the door whilst looking at Q and putting a finger over my mouth to tell him to keep quiet. As we stood there next to each other I noticed that the girls were talking about the guys.

“Do you believe that they are in here?” one of the girls announced loudly.

“I know, I can’t wait to get a photo.” The other one replied. “Sal is so hot.” 

I dared to look up into Brian’s eyes and saw that he was watching me intently, a smile pulling at one side of his mouth as he took a step towards me and placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Yeah but Q…” the first girl carried on brazenly. “I would so love to fuck him…”

Q grinned widely on hearing this as the girls went on. 

“Just to run my hands through his hair…”

With this Brian reached up into my hair and started to pull my face towards his, his eyes burning into mine as we got closer and closer. I was powerless to stop it and didn’t dare say anything as the girls went on.

“I wonder what it would be like to kiss him.” The other one interrupted and before she had finished what she was saying Q crossed the last few inches towards me and met my lips in a searing kiss.

I gasped as my lips parted and my breath washed over him as his tongue immediately found mine and he reached down to pull me even closer.

The girls faded into the background as the room started to spin and I knew that it wasn’t the booze that was making me lightheaded but finally getting to feel Q’s lips on mine again after what felt like way too long. I forgot to think of Sal as Q worked his hands into the waistband of my jeans and I ran my fingers through his hair before coming to rest at the side of his face. I felt like I had been thirsty for days and was now finally getting a drink as his hands found their way into my panties and parted my slick folds with practiced ease. He slipped two fingers inside of me and I moved my hips so that he could slide deeper inside of me as I looked up and found him watching me.

I stepped backwards to put my weight on the door and watched between hooded eyes as Brian brought his hands out of my underwear and lifted his fingers up to his lips, his eyes still not leaving mine as he put his fingers in his mouth and tasted my arousal.

It was then the door slammed shut and we heard the 2 girls walk away from the bathroom, still talking about which Joker they would rather sleep with.

i immediately came to my senses and took a step forward so that I could open the door and escape the cubicle. This had all happened in seconds and I looked up to Brian to see that he still had his fingers in his mouth. 

Realising I was about to bolt Q reached out but I was too quick for him.

“Layla!” he protested.

I looked away as my cheeks flamed and ran to the door before he had chance to say anything else and quickly made my way back towards our table. I wasn’t even half way back when I saw Sal coming towards me. 

Panicking that he was about to see Q appear from the toilets behind me I grabbed his arm and pulled him through the crowded room until we reached the double doors that led back into the main part of the club. 

“Look,” I rushed. “I don’t feel well. I’m gonna head off. Can you keep an eye on Lily and tell her that I will see her at home?” 

Sal’s face fell but he quickly covered it with a smile. “Want me to take you home?” 

I attempted to smile back at him but shook my head. “I’ll just get a cab.” I told him. “I’ve just had too much to drink. I’ll text you when I get home ok?” 

Before he could say anything more I turned and fled. I made it to the doors within seconds and breathed a sigh of relief seeing that there were a couple of taxis at the curb waiting. I pulled open the doors and collapsed into one and let myself relax into the seat as the car pulled away from the curb.   
My heartbeat was still racing when I got home and threw myself onto the sofa and pulled my phone out of my bag. I already had a text waiting.

‘Hope you feel better soon doll. I’ll call you tomorrow. Sal x’

He had attached the picture of us both and I felt my eyes fill with tears as I looked at his smile. He was such a nice guy and I didn’t want him to end up hurt but I just couldn’t deny the attraction I felt with Q. I thought back to the bathroom and run my finger over my lips remembering how it felt to have Brian’s lips on me. 

I sat there for an hour but eventually decided that I should try and get some sleep as Monday was my busiest day at school and I had to be up too early for words. Trying to calm my still pounding heart I walked into the bedroom and put some mellow music on before sitting down in front of my vanity chest and pulling out a make-up wipe. I swiped the make-up gently off of my face before reaching for a hair tie to put my hair up into a pony-tail to save having to wash it in the morning and was just about to head into the bathroom to brush my teeth when I heard a knock at the door.

Smiling ruefully at the fact that Lily had no doubt forgotten her keys as usual or was too drunk to be bothered to try and find her keys I headed to the front door only to open it and see Q stood there with his hands in his pockets. 

“We have to talk.” He told me, taking advantage of my surprise to walk past me and shut the door behind him. 

“No, we don’t.” I replied not daring to look up at him.

He stepped towards me and placed a hand at my chin to direct my head so that I had no choice but to look into his eyes. “Look at me.”

Feeling petulant I closed my eyes and stepped out of his reach. 

“Damn it, Layla.” He ground out. “Open your fucking eyes.” 

I sighed and realised that this wasn’t going to work so opened my eyes and walked through to the front room where I sat down on the sofa and picked up a pillow and held it in front of me as if for protection. 

He followed me and sat down beside me before pulling the pillow from my grasp and placing it behind him.

“You need to stop running away from me.” He said softly.

I sighed and looked up at him, wondering what I could say to make this easier. “I didn’t expect any of this to happen you know…”

“And you think that I did?” he replied tartly. 

I looked at him in front of me and realised that he did indeed look as confused and hurt as I felt. “Look,” I started, trying to keep this simple and get him the hell out of the flat. “I have rehearsal tomorrow and I need to get some sleep.”

He reached over to grab my hand but I pulled away from him so that he couldn’t reach me.

“Can’t this wait?” I asked looking down at my feet, which were bouncing up and down nervously. “I really am tired.”

He ran a hand through this hair in exasperation and stood up. “You will have to face this eventually.” He whispered dropping to squat in front of me so that I couldn’t avoid his gaze. With that he dropped a kiss on my cheek and ran a finger across the same lips that had been on his merely an hour ago before taking a step back. “I’ll let myself out.” 

I didn’t realise that I was holding my breath until I heard the front door click softly and my breath came out of me in a rush. I hurried to my bedroom and climbed under the covers, pulling the duvet over my head and closed my eyes tight, hoping to block out the sight of his face. He was right, I couldn’t run forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for feedback and views. I'm very grateful :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Layla thinks she has made a choice but it isn't that simple...

Luckily I loved my classes and surprisingly they managed the impossible. They kept my mind off both Sal and Q and the morning passed faster than expected. I was actually smiling when I met Lily for lunch in the courtyard half way between our classes. 

“Do you want to talk about last night?” she asked me, not bothering to beat around the bush.

I smiled sadly and shook my head. “I just want to concentrate on school, ok?” 

She was a good friend and understood that I would talk about things when I was ready so she said no more about it and we chatted about normal things as we hurriedly ate our lunch before saying our goodbyes and heading off to our respective classes. 

I had a couple more classes and they passed in no time at all and again I found myself grinning as I walked to rehearsals for the show. I was getting good at burying my head in the sand.

Landing the lead in Evita had significantly upped my work load and ate into my free time considering that I still had to work at the bar but this was my dream and if I was going to be serious about breaking into theater I would be stupid to turn this chance down, seeing as so many people had auditioned. 

As I walked into the practice hall I smiled at the other cast members from the show and was thankful that everyone seemed so nice and as determined as me to make this a success. The director was renowned for being a hard taskmaster so I got ready for a full on rehearsal and put everything out of my mind knowing that I would get pulled up if I didn’t give it my all.

We had only been practising a few weeks but already had a few numbers down and as I made to the stage to run through one of my favourites – ‘Rainbow High’ – I was able to forget everything going on and get lost in the music, belting out the lines that I had memorised. I had just finished the last bars of the song when I noticed someone stood at the back of the hall that clearly shouldn’t be there and I realised with a jolt that it was Q.

“Great rehearsal today everyone. Great job Layla!” The director called out as one of the other cast members reached out to high five me. “See you all in a few days.”

Everyone immediately headed off the stage, anxious to get off and enjoy the evening, chatting amongst themselves and shouting out goodbyes so less than a minute had passed when I found myself walking down the stage stairs and into the aisle towards Brian. He was wearing a cap that was pulled down low over his face and I realised that he was trying to be low key and go unnoticed.

By this time used to him showing up unexpectedly I gestured to his hat and black inconspicuous hoodie with a grin. “This your disguise?” I cracked. 

He broke into a smile and looked up at the stage. “You were amazing. I mean I know that I shouldn’t be surprised but you were really… incredible.” He told me earnestly. “You are going to be huge.”

I blushed, my mouth curving into a smile at his compliment. “Thanks.” I muttered, embarrassed. “I try.”

He tugged on my arm and we fell into 2 of the seats next to the aisle just as the lights in the hall went out. 

“So what are you doing here?” I asked, the mood between us changing and instantly becoming more serious.

Q ran a hand through his hair, which I now knew meant that he was nervous, before pulling my hands out of my lap and taking them in his. “I needed to see you.”   
I swallowed thickly and couldn’t resist looking up to meet his eyes. As we held each-others gaze my head started to move towards his right at the same moment that he started to lean down and I closed my eyes as his lips met mine. 

It was softer than the kiss we had shared last night but it was more passionate by far and I was powerless to resist as he pulled me across his legs so that I was straddling him and my legs could fall either side of his. My head spun as his hands reached up to pull my hair free of my ponytail so that the waves fell around my shoulders and he could trail his hands through the strands. 

“Brian…” I protested weakly as he pulled away but he cut me off with a finger to my lips and looked briefly around the auditorium before pulling my vest top down off of one of my shoulders to so that he could drop kisses down my collarbone and gently caress the skin that he had revealed.   
Forgetting and not caring where we were I leaned back so that he could move his head lower and within seconds his hands had reached up to take out one of my breasts so that he could suck gently on one of my nipples. 

Within minutes I was panting and I ground into him to try and find some much needed friction. He was as frantic as me and he hurriedly lifted me up so that I could undo his fly. Luckily I was wearing a short denim skirt so I simply yanked it up and Q pulled my knickers to the side and reached to find that I was already moist. 

“Jesus Layla.” He groaned as he sunk a finger inside me and found me wet and ready for him. 

He quickly pulled his finger out and reached into his pocket and pulled out a condom before ripping it open and handing it to me to roll over his length. It didn’t take me long and I removed my hands after completing the task at hand only for them to be replaced by his own as he guided his length towards my slick opening. 

As he lowered me down onto him I placed my hands on either side of his face and watched his eyes cloud as I took him fully inside me. Our lips met and we instantly found our rhythm and I felt myself clench around him as he sucked on my bottom lip and nibbled on it gently, the bites connecting with my core and causing me to shiver as a sheen of sweat broke out upon my skin.

I looked up into his eyes and saw that he was watching me as I moved up and down on top of him, my arms around his shoulders to support myself as his hips ground up to meet mine.

“I can’t stop thinking about you.” He whispered as I struggled to contain my moans. 

“Me too.” I told him opening my eyes to see him biting on his bottom lip. “I want you so much.”

My words spurred him on and he reached down to grab my hips so that he could slam in and out of me even harder. Every thrust pushed me closer to the edge and I grabbed the back of the seat as he focused on making sure that every inch of his cock worked its way in and out of my tight hole. 

“Layla…” he groaned. “I’m going to c…” 

I mashed my lips to his and cut him off as my body started to spiral and my sex started to contract around his length. He thrust his tongue in and out of my mouth, mimicking his cock as he pounded into me a couple more times before stilling and resting his head on my shoulder.

I opened my eyes and looked into his eyes, watching as they fluttered open and his pupils dilated.

“I can’t stay away from you.” He admitted meeting my lips in a kiss. 

I sighed, my forehead resting against his and decided that if he could be honest then so could I. “I don’t want you to.”

We pulled our clothes into some order hurriedly, suddenly remembering that we were actually somewhere public and that anyone could walk in at any moment and he took my hand as I lead him towards a fire escape and back into the early evening sunshine. 

It was still summer but there was a light breeze and I tilted my face into it, letting the light wind cool down my heated cheeks as we walked in comfortable silence.   
I didn’t feel the need to say anything and Q obviously felt the same as we made it all the way back to the flat and walked inside without speaking. 

It wasn’t until I saw the hastily scribbled note from Lily telling me that she was going to be out for the evening that I turned to Brian with a smile. 

“Looks like we have the flat to ourselves tonight.” I told him grinning. “You got plans?” 

He walked towards me and leaned down towards me, the intention to kiss me clear on his face. “I do now.”

My lips curved into a smile before his lips met mine and he lifted me easily into his arms and pulled my legs up so that I could put them around his waist. He headed towards the bedrooms and I pointed out which one was mine so that he could kick open the doors and throw me on the bed. 

I had just landed on the mattress and looked up to see Q pull his hoodie and t-shirt over his head when I heard the unmistakable sound of someone knocking on the door. 

We stilled and I looked up at him in horror as he met my gaze. “Are you expecting anyone?” he asked. 

I shook my head and jumped up off the bed as if I had been burned. “Stay here.” I hissed, heading through the door and shutting it behind me. 

I fanned my heated cheeks and walked to the door and opened it, hoping in vain that it was just a neighbor after some sugar or something. It wasn’t.

“Hey babe.” Sal greeted cheerfully, clutching a massive bouquet of flowers. “You feeling better today?” 

I forced a smile onto my face and took the flowers from him, realising that I had no choice but to invite him inside. I stepped back to let him in and tried to get my heartbeat under control, it was pounding so hard that I worried that he would hear it. 

‘Yeah,” I replied. “Just had too much to drink I think.”

“Sorry I didn’t call, we have been busy all day so I figured I would just stop by.” He explained taking a seat on the sofa. 

I put the flowers onto the table and then sat down next to him and didn’t have chance to say anything before he pulled me onto his lap and leaned in for a kiss. As his lips met mine and his hand slid underneath my t-shirt I pulled back gently and attempted to mask my face into a genuine smile.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, clearly stung by the rejection. 

“Nothing,” I told him trying to stay cool. “I’m starving, that’s all.” 

Sal broke into a grin and moved closer so that he could take my hand in his. “In that case, I will take you out for dinner.” He decided.

“I’m beat.” I told him looking up at him and smiling. “It’s been a long day. I don’t know if I have the energy.”

“I’ll go and buy something and cook then, if you don’t want to go out.” He replied, squeezing my fingers gently between his own. 

I started to panic and realised that I would have to agree to go out after all. I couldn’t expect Q to sit in my bedroom all night and knew that Sal would hear if he were to leave the room, we only had a small flat after all. 

“Actually,” I said with a grin, thinking on my feet. “I could kill for some Chinese food.” 

Sal smiled back at me before pushing me off the sofa so that I had to stand up. “Go get ready then. I’ll wait here.”

I breathed a sigh of relief seeing him reach for the television remote and hurried into my bedroom, shutting the door quietly behind me.

I turned around to find Q sat on the edge of my bed, flicking through one of the photo albums from my bookcase.

“We are going out for something to eat.” I hissed at him. “It’s the only way I can get him out of the flat without being obvious.”

“These are so adorable.” He told me smiling, motioning down at a photo of me with my brother, when we were only little, playing in a paddling pool in the back garden of our childhood home.

“Brian, will you put that down.” I scolded. “This is serious.” 

Brian jumped up off the bed and put his arms around me and pulled my head so that it was resting on his chest. 

“It’s going to be alright.” He whispered, dropping a kiss on the top of my head. “I’ll come back later ok.” 

I looked up at him and nodded. “My number is on the fridge, text me in a bit.” I told him. “Also, there are spare keys in the glass bowl by the tv, lock the door and post them through the letterbox when you leave.” 

Brian nodded and I suddenly felt nervous realising that I had to get changed in front of him. I know that he had clearly seen my body before but there was something intimate about changing in front of someone. Deciding to brazen it out I pulled my vest top over my shoulders and reached for a clean t-shirt. Slipping it over my head I pulled it into place. Once this was done I made my way over to the mirror, trying to ignore Brian’s gaze as it followed me around the room. I quickly pulled my long hair into a messy bun and found a scarf which I pulled around my hair and smoothed into place. 

“Right.” I told him quietly turning back to where he was sat watching me. “I’ll see you later, ok?” 

He made to stand up and approach me but before he could get to me I stepped back and opened the door, silently holding up a hand to stop him before giving him a quick wave and a smile.

As I walked back into the front room I saw that Sal was laughing at an old episode of Friends. Wanting to get out of the flat as quickly as possible, I motioned towards the front door. “Ready?” I asked him.

Sal jumped up, pressing the standby button on the remote to shut off the television before coming to stand in front of me. 

“You look pretty.” He told me leaning in so that he could brush his lips against mine. 

I couldn’t help it, my cheeks coloured and I broke into a smile. As I let him lead me out the door and back out into the sun I prayed that Q would leave the flat quickly, the thought of him in my house without me there was not something that I liked. 

 

We ended up at an intimate Chinese restaurant that Sal actually knew of from the last time the guys had been in the country and I let myself smile as a waitress led us to a booth at the back where we were shielded from everyone’s view. 

“This is nice.” I told him looking around at my surroundings. 

“Food’s good too.” He told me, moving closer so that he could rest his hand on my thigh. 

Just then his phone buzzed and he took it out of his pocket before apologising and telling me that it would be only quick. He answered the call and nodded along with whatever was being said before telling whoever was on the other end of the line that he would see them in a couple of hours. Relieved that he was making plans, which meant that I could make my escape I tried to hide my smile as he swiped the screen to end the call and beamed up at me. 

“Everything ok?” I asked.

He nodded and reached for my hand, before pulling a menu between us and asking what I wanted.

Surprisingly I really enjoyed dinner and found it easy not to think of Q as Sal went all out to entertain me and keep me laughing. We got on so well and I wished that it was enough because I really didn’t like the idea of letting him down when he clearly really liked me but with Brian my feelings were way more intense. He was always at the back of my mind and the truth was that I couldn’t wait to see him again and have his hands, and lips, on me. There was something addictive about the way Q made me feel and I knew that I was helpless to stay away. My heart had apparently made its choice and I knew that I had to go with it.

We had just stepped back onto the pavement after eating way too much when Sal put his hands on my arms to still me. I tiled my face up to his, ready for him to say that he had to leave but he surprised me by pulling me towards the road, reaching out a hand to flag down a cab. 

“Will you come somewhere with me?” he asked me as soon as a taxi had pulled up and stilled in front of us at the curb.

I looked into his eyes and saw that he was watching me expectantly. I didn’t have the heart to say no and part of me was curious so I nodded and grinned as he opened the door and motioned for me to get in ahead of him. 

As Sal gave the name of the theater where we had been to watch Evita I looked at him in confusion but he merely smiled and took hold of my hand. 

“What’s going on?” I asked. 

He shook his head. “It’s a surprise.” 

I looked out the window as the city rolled by and found myself getting excited. I had always loved surprises and the look on Sal’s face told me that he was really excited about whatever was about to happen.

We soon pulled up at the theater and after paying the driver and jumping out Sal pulled me along with him as he made his way around to a door at the side of the building and knocked loudly. 

“Why are we here?” I questioned but he merely shook his head again and shushed me.

The door was opened by a guy wielding a clip board and he ushered us inside and shut the door behind us. I heard music coming from what seemed to be the main room and we followed the music until we stepped into the main auditorium and I saw that the cast of Evita were in the middle of rehearsals. 

I looked up at Sal with a grin, still not really understanding what was going on but he pulled me up the aisles until we reached a guy sat at the front of the stage.   
As soon as the guy saw Sal he stood up and approached us, quickly looking me up and down before pulling Sal into an embrace. 

“Nice that you could make it, Sal.” The guy said cheerily. “This her?”

Sal nodded and turned to me, to see my face was a mask of confusion. “Layla, this is the director, Michael.” He explained. “We have friends in common and I heard that they are in need of an understudy. I suggested you.” 

My mouth fell open and it took me a few seconds to pull myself together. “For what part?” 

“The lead.” Michael replied. “You can audition now if you are up to it. It’s only for a couple of weeks but we are desperate.” 

I spun to look at Sal, a look of amazement on my face, before breaking out into a smile. I couldn’t believe that he would do this for me. This was the biggest chance I had ever had and I was not going to turn it down. I threw my arms around him and squeezed him briefly before turning back to the director. 

“I’m up for it.” I beamed. “Right now?”

Michael nodded and gestured towards the stage, where they were just finishing up with a number. It was strange to see them out of costume but I saw that even without make-up the actress that played Evita was incredibly beautiful and absolutely owned the role. I knew that understudies rarely got used but merely the chance to put this onto my resume was too good an opportunity to pass up. 

“Stage is yours when you want it.” Michael told me once the track had finished and the people on the stage had stopped singing.

As the cast wound down and chatted amongst themselves Michael called for quiet and told them that I would be auditioning so they all made their way to the seats in front of the stage. 

As it hit me what I was doing my hands started to shake and I shrugged out of my jacket but as I walked passed the lead on the way to the stage she offered me a smile and reached out to take my hand.

“Good luck.” She said smiling.

I managed to smile back and looked back at Michael as he asked me which song I wanted to sing. I knew instantly what I would do and walked up the steps at the side of the stage and walked into the middle.

“Rainbow High.” I answered confidently, even though I felt anything but.

My eyes locked with Sal’s and he beamed up at me, mouthing that I could do this and giving me a thumbs up. 

Before I had chance to let nerves overcome me a crew member came and handed me a microphone unit which I could put around my head so that I wouldn’t have to hold anything. 

I was watching him walk off the stage when the music started to blast out of the speakers and I waited for my cue.

As my life flashed before my eyes I launched into the song and forgot to look at everyone below me, focusing solely on the song and prowling around the stage as I had seen the actress do merely a night before. It was all over way too soon and as I held the last note as long as I could before tailing off I dared to look down at the people below me only to hear them break out into applause. 

I caught Sal’s gaze and saw that he was on his feet, clapping wildly while Michael patted him on the back, leaning in to say something to him and making sure that he was heard over the applause coming from the cast. 

Taking a bow I walked back to the steps and made my way back into the aisle only for Sal to pull me into his arms before I could reach the floor. 

“It’s yours if you want it.” He told me.

I let him spin me down before being put back down and as my feet touched the floor I saw that the cast had come to congratulate me.

The next half hour passed in a blur as I called my boss at the bar and told him that I would need a couple of weeks off. He wasn’t happy but when I told him why he begrudgingly offered his congratulations and told me to call when I knew I would be back to work.

It was agreed that I would start rehearsals tomorrow to be ready for the weekend shows and hearing the schedule I realised that I wouldn’t even have to miss any classes. My contract would be drawn up tomorrow and we would take care of all the paperwork and fittings and such then.

As we ended up back in the alley where we had stood a mere hour ago I took a deep breath and looked at Sal, who was standing beside me looking bemused. 

“Well that went well.” He commented reaching down to take my hand. “Do you want to go and celebrate?”

Without thinking what I was doing I pulled him close and reached up to push my lips against his. 

“Can we go back to the hotel?” I asked him softly.

Breaking out in a grin he nodded and pulled me towards the street, flagging down a cab and giving the driver the name of his hotel. 

It didn’t take long and as we walked into the hotel I couldn’t stop myself watching Sal as he pulled me towards the lift that would take us up to the room.

All thoughts of Q were pushed to the back of my mind as I thought about what Sal had done. His actions had led to me getting what was sure to be the biggest chance of my life and I marveled that he had taken the risk without even being sure of my talent. I know that Lily raved about me and had told him that I was amazing but without seeing for himself he could have ended up looking really stupid if I hadn’t been as good as I was. 

As soon as we got into the room I dragged him over to the bed and without a word pushed him so that he was laying back on the mattress and kicked off my flats as I worked on getting his trainers and socks off before pouncing on the bed and reaching for his zip.

“Layla, you don’t have to…”

He trailed off as I mashed my lips against his and reached into his boxers. 

“I want to.” I shushed him as I dragged his jeans and boxers down in one swoop.

Desperate to show him what tonight had meant to me I saw that he was already fully hard and licked my lips before taking him into my mouth.

I heard the breath hiss out from between his teeth as I took him into the back of my throat whilst running my finger nails lightly over the inside of his thighs.

I looked up to see that he had pulled himself up and was resting back on his elbows so that he could watch me while I took his length between my lips and the look he was giving me connected directly with my core as I felt moisture pool between my legs. 

I bobbed up and down and used my tongue to swipe over the head of his cock and saw him throw his head back as he bit down on his bottom lip and grabbed the back of my head.

“Your mouth is so fucking sweet.” He groaned as I felt him twitch in my mouth. 

Smiling around his length I kept up the suction and used my hands to cup his balls and massage them slowly as my lips trailed a path up and down his cock.

“I’m going to cum in your mouth.” He stuttered out as I started to use my hands to squeeze the base of his cock lightly in time with the movements of my mouth.

I heard him curse and mumble a garbled version of my name as I felt him spurt into my mouth and the hot liquid rushed over my tongue. 

I milked him gently until he stopped shaking and licked some stray drops from his length before standing up in front of him.

Waiting until his eyes met mine I undid the zip of my jeans and pulled them down my legs and kicked them off before reaching my hands up and pulling my t-shirt over my head. Once I was stood before him in my underwear I walked towards him and fell on top of him on the bed.

His lips met mine and I pulled his t-shirt over his head so that I could feel his skin against mine. Sal reached around behind me and pulled at the clasp of my bra until it fell from my shoulders and I wriggled my hips until my panties started to fall down and Sal was able to pull them off of me. 

As soon as I was naked Sal flipped us over so that I was underneath him and moved off the bed, reaching down to pull a condom out of his jeans pocket before rolling it on and moving back to the bed where he covered his body with mine. 

I opened my legs as he settled between them and met my gaze, my mouth becoming slack as he slid inside me slowly. I let out a moan and turned my head to rest it on the bed but he pulled my head back towards him so that he could meet my lips in a kiss that left me panting.

“Harder. Faster.” I urged him as he slid in and out of me at a tortuously slow pace.

I looked up to see him watching me and as soon as his eyes landed on mine he picked up the pace and pulled my legs so that they were resting over his shoulders. He began to slam inside me and reached down to grab my hands, pulling them above my head and pinning them together with one of his so that I was pinioned beneath him.

He used his other hand to slide down over my body and focused briefly on my nipples before resting at the juncture between my thighs. 

As his fingers traced circles over the swollen nub I felt my pulse quicken and sensed my orgasm drawing closer.

‘Just like that.” I managed, as he kept up the pace and his thrusts grew more intense. 

I let my head fall back on the mattress and went to close my eyes but Sal stopped me.

“I want to watch you as you cum.” He panted, clearly close to finding his own release. 

His words were my undoing and I felt my body shatter into pieces as he poured himself into me and reached down to caress me as my body pulsed and contracted around him. I kept my eyes open and watched as his crinkled at the corners as he had to fight the rush of pleasure coursing through him and work to keep his eyes on mine. 

I realised that my breath was rushing out of me in pants but I was too sated to care as I pulled him close and run my tongue over his upper lip, tasting the sweat that had beaded there.

I grinned as he pulled out of me and flipped us once again so that I was straddling him, my hair falling over both our shoulders.

“You are amazing.” I whispered, whipping my hair over my shoulders so that it would fall down my back.

“I know.” He winked reaching down to tickle my hip. 

I laughed and pulled away from him only for him to roll with me and grab my hands so that I was powerless to stop him running his fingers over the sensitive parts of my body and make me howl with laughter. Laughing hard I let myself get caught up in the moment and it was all too easy to forget everything but the sensations thrumming through my body as he teased me…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the feedback. Sorry it's been a while between chapters :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Layla finally makes a decision, things come to a head...

Me and Sal had fallen asleep wrapped around each other and it was half 6 in the morning when I finally surfaced and heard Sal snoring lightly beside me. Needing to use the bathroom I climbed over him quietly and made sure not to disturb him as I crept over to the toilet. Seeing my bag on the floor beside the door I grabbed my phone and winced seeing that I had 4 missed calls and way more text messages. Shutting the door behind me I saw that 3 of the calls were from Q while one was from Lily. In the same vein there were plenty of texts from him but only one from Lily, shocking me by letting me know that Q was at the flat. 

Hurriedly scrolling through the text messages from him I saw that they started off pleasant enough.

‘I’m bored without you. X’

‘How long you going to be? X’

The tone of the messages changed around midnight.

‘You said you wouldn’t be long. Where the hell are you?’

‘I’m waiting up. Please don’t be much longer.’

The last text message came in at 3.26am.

‘I’m going to sleep. When you get back we need to talk.’

I dropped my phone into my bag and put my head in my hands, realising that this meant that he had waited at the flat for me all this time. I had to face the music and I had to do it soon. Rifling around in my bag to find some paper I scribbled a note for Sal explaining that I had early classes and would call him later before heading back into the bedroom and placing it on the bedside table. 

Hurriedly I pulled my clothes on and checked that I had everything that I came with before opening the door and then shutting it softly behind me.  
I made great time and was standing outside the door to the flat less than 20 minutes later, standing for a minute to catch my breath before heading inside for whatever happened next.

Walking into my bedroom I saw that Q was asleep on top of the duvet, the pillows heaped up underneath his head. He was on his back and I took a minute to admire his features, which were relaxed in sleep, making him look much younger than his years. He had kicked off his shoes but was still wearing the rest of his clothes. I itched to reach out and touch him, knowing that this could be the last time I got to see him this way, but I resisted, not knowing how mad he would be. I sat down softly, reaching for the glass of water that rested on the table next to my bed. Instantly I felt him stir and realised that he had woken up when I sat down.  
As I looked over at him I found him rubbing his eyes as he sat up until the headboard sat at his back.

“What time is it?” he asked.

I shot a look at my phone, wincing as I realised that this wasn’t going to go well. “Coming up 7.” I answered reluctantly, not daring to look at him.

“I’d ask where you have been but I think it’s pretty obvious.” He said quietly, the soft tone of his voice worrying me.

I knew that he was reigning in his anger, I saw it written all over his face when I dared to finally look at him. “I don’t know what to say.” I whispered.

He moved across the bed and swung his legs out so that he was sitting with his back to me. He didn’t reply and after a minute of silence I felt the need to fill the void.

“I didn’t ask for any of this you know.” I continued, speaking without having chance to think about what I was saying. “You think it’s easy for me to be in the middle like this?” 

He spun around and I saw that his eyes had hardened. “You think it’s been easy for me tonight,” he bit back. “Knowing damn well who you were with and having to wonder what you were doing.” 

I bit down on my tongue to stop my eyes filling with tears, watching him as he stood up and reached for his jacket, which had been flung carelessly over my armchair.

“Not that I need to wonder anymore,” he ground out. “I can smell him all over you.” 

I looked down and was unable to stop my eyes filling as I looked up pleadingly. “I don’t want to hurt anyone Brian.” 

He laughed bitterly and stalked past me. “Bit too late for that don’t you think.” 

I watched as he walked out of the room and debated going after him but figured that it would do no good. There wasn’t really anything I could say. It was obvious where I had been and what I had been doing and I was stupid to think that he wasn’t going to be mad. 

As I realised that mere hours had passed between me being with them both I put my head in my hands and struggled to stop the sense of shame washing over me.   
I really hadn’t expected any of this to happen and really hadn’t meant for anyone to get hurt. While part of me craved Q, a small part of me was falling for Sal and there was absolutely nothing I could do to stop it. As I had left the flat earlier tonight I was determined to back off from Sal but after what he had done for me was it any surprise that I had wanted to jump head first into his arms? I was used to having to fight for what I wanted in this world and for someone to go out of their way to help me get what I wanted, well it was something that I wasn’t used to and it had moved me. 

It was hard to not want to be with someone that had done more for me than in a matter of days than anyone had done for me before but then I thought of Q and remembered how right it had felt just having his hand in mine as we walked down the street. While I was with them both it was all too easy to forget everything else that was going on but I knew realistically that I had to do something about this soon because I really didn’t want to come between them and I knew that the longer I let this go on the more someone stood to get really hurt. 

 

It was lunchtime the next day when I was sat in the canteen at school waiting for Lily when my eyes landed on a sleazy tabloid newspaper that someone had left behind. I was about to look away when I saw a face I recognised in the bottom left hand corner. Grabbing the paper and pulling it towards me I flicked through the pages until I found what I was looking for and looked at the bold headline.

“My night of passion with Q from Impractical Jokers.”

Below the headline was a picture of the girl from the club, Abbie, looking all wide eyed and innocent, pouting into the camera. There were also some shots that she had clearly taken of the two of them at the club on her phone which had obviously verified her story. As my eyes scanned the lurid article I grimaced at the amount of detail there was and felt sick as I read what they had gotten up to when they went back to the hotel. 

I knew that I shouldn’t really be surprised but part of me had hoped that he had merely dropped her home and I felt sick that he had been so mad at me when only a few days he had banged some fame-hungry tart he met at a club. I knew that it was slightly different but couldn’t help feeling pissed off as I remembered how disappointed he had seemed last night when the truth was that he had done it himself. 

As indignation rushed through me I took out my phone and held it up to my ear at the same time Lily made her way over to the table and sat down opposite me, pulling the paper and raising her eyebrows when she saw the article. I held my finger up to silence her before she had chance to speak and waited patiently for Sal to answer the phone.

I wasted no time in asking what the plan was for tonight and felt a thrill course through me on hearing that they had another appearance later on tonight. We said our goodbyes after arranging for Sal to pick me and Lily up from the flat on the way to the club and I hung up the phone only to see Lily watching me expectantly.

It didn’t take long to update her on everything happened and as I finished filling her in she sat in stunned silence. 

“Hold on a minute.” She exclaimed after a minute. “You are the understudy in Evita?”

I grinned and nodded but soon stopped smiling when I remembered what had happened when I had gotten back home. 

“So you fucked Sal again to say thanks while I was at home with Q, who was waiting to surprise you when you got back?” she continued.

“Surprise me?” I asked, confusion lancing through me.

“He text me last night just after I had got home and said that he wanted to surprise you by being there when you got back so I told him he could come round and sat up waiting with him.” Lily told me. “I had to call it a night because I couldn’t sit there watching him anymore. Poor guy looked wounded, babe.”

I felt a pang of guilt but then looked down at the article and pointed at it. “Well he didn’t need to come down so hard on me, did he?”

Lily’s eyebrows raised and she shook her head. “Sweetie, she was a no-one.” She pointed out. “Look at how angry you are… Think how he feels knowing that you were with his best friend.”

I slumped into my chair and put my head in my hands, knowing that she was right. 

“You need to choose.” She carried on. “If you still have the chance that is.”

I looked up at her smiled sadly. “This is such a mess.” I muttered. 

“That it is.” She replied pulling me out of my seat and towards our next classes. “So tell me about this Evita gig.” 

 

My first rehearsal at the theater went incredibly. I knew the play by heart seeing as it was my favourite and had seen it so many times so this meant that I already had a massive head start. The cast were helpful and kind and I found myself shattered but elated when I finally got back to the flat.   
I just about had time for a shower and a bite to eat before I heard the door knock. 

“Will you get that babe?” I called out to Lily, finishing doing my make-up in the mirror of my vanity chest. 

I heard the door open and Sal greeted Lily as she asked him to come in and wait in the front room. 

I looked in the mirror and wondered if I was too dressed up but part of me wanted to hurt Brian after reading the article and I knew that the best way of doing this was to appear happy and uncaring so I patted my hair into place and walking into the front room.

Sal and Lily turned to look at me and I saw Sal’s eyebrows shoot up as he looked at me, telling me that I did indeed look at good as I had hoped. I was wearing a long black gypsy skirt that had a slit running up to my thigh and a white skin tight camisole that was cut low at the front. I had put my hair up in a messy bun and put a large white flower in the side of my hair, capping my look off with smoky eye make-up and a lot of eyeliner. 

“Wow.” Sal stated. “You look incredible.” 

I approached him and let him pull me into his arms and press his lips to my cheek, trying to ignore Lily as she shook her head and smiled ruefully. 

“We ready?” he asked.

I nodded and reached over to pick up my handbag before making my way to the front door.

It didn’t take long to get to the club and as we pulled up to the side entrance I looked down at the slit in my skirt, which was revealing way too much leg and started to regret my choice of outfit. Lily was right, it was totally different what Brian had done and while I had a right to be slightly annoyed it was nothing like what I was doing with Sal. Playing games was not the way to go and wasn’t going to get me anywhere, it would only make things worse.

Sal jumped out the cab and offered me his hand and I shot a look of panic at Lily before climbing out after him. He grinned at us both before pulling us to the door and we quickly made our way inside where I instantly spotted the guys sat around a big table. Taking a deep breath I let Sal lead me over and tried to act casual as Murr jumped up to make room.

“Hey ladies.” He said cheerfully. “You both look incredible.” 

I flushed and tried to ignore Q, who was less than a foot away from me, as the guys moved round to make space for us and Lily and Sal sat down. Taking my seat beside them I avoided looking at Brian and smiled gratefully at Lily when she handed me a potent looking cocktail. 

Taking a sip I noticed how strong it was and let the cool liquid slide swiftly down my throat, hoping that it would take the edge off. 

The next hour and a half passed painfully slowly and I worked my way through 5 more cocktails as the guys chatted animatedly and I tried to act like everything was fine. While I knew that Brian was trying to act just as nonchalant as me I couldn’t help noticing that every time Sal’s attention was on someone else his gaze slid to me, waiting for me to look at him. I refused to give him the satisfaction and breathed a sigh of relief as someone came to tell the guys that they were due on stage. 

“That was painful.” I said as I watched them head towards a stage in another part of the club.

“You’re telling me.” Lily replied. “You could cut the tension with a knife.” 

I shook my head and reached for another cocktail and leaned back in my seat as I felt the alcohol surge around my blood stream. Realising that I should slow down as I had another early morning tomorrow and still needed to catch up on the sleep I missed yesterday I put my drink down and told Lily I was going to the bathroom.   
I splashed some water on my face and looked into the mirror and wondered what to do. Deciding that I was going to make my excuses soon I dabbed some lip-gloss onto my lips and head back out to the table where I was surprised to see that the guys were already back.

“That was fast.” I said to Sal when I had taken my seat back at the table. 

“Yeah,” he agreed. “Only had to be on for 10 minutes.” 

I smiled and reached for a cocktail before deciding that I was going to get out of here now while I had the chance. 

Grateful that Q had not yet appeared back at the table I leaned into Sal. “Do you mind if I call it a night soon?” I asked him making short work of the cocktail that I had in my hand. “I’m still knackered after last night and have another early morning tomorrow.”

Sal pulled a sad face but put his arm around me and grinned. “If you have to, but can we do something tomorrow night, just the two of us?”

I looked into his eyes and smiled. “Sure we can.” 

I leaned over and told Lily that I would see her later and she nodded at me, pulling me close for a hug so that she could whisper in my ear. “You can’t avoid him forever.” 

I pulled back and stuck my tongue out. “Thanks for the support.” 

She grinned back at me as I grabbed my bag and got out of my seat only for Sal to stand up with me. 

“I’ll walk you to a cab.” He told me pulling my hand into his. 

I let him lead me towards the side entrance but couldn’t help a last look around for Q. Part of me wanted just one more glimpse of him before I went but the other part of me was glad when we stepped out onto the pavement without seeing him. 

Sal pulled me close and kissed me as a taxi pulled up to the road and I stuck my hand out. 

“I’ll call you after my classes.” I told him opening the car door. 

As I watched him fade from view I closed my eyes and tried to clear my mind as the taxi sped towards my flat. We were there in no time at all and I was soon closing the door behind me and kicking off my shoes, throwing my bag onto the sofa before walking into my bedroom. 

As I saw Q sat on my bed looking up at me, the only light in the room coming from a single lamp, I shook my head.

“You have to be kidding me.” I said, more to myself than him, realising that Lily had obviously given him the spare keys. “I am going to fucking kill her.” 

Q jumped up and walked towards me, stopping a foot in front of me. “We need to sort this out Layla.”

“I can’t do this to him Brian.” I said sadly. “He has done too much for me.” 

As I walked past him and pulled the hair tie out of my hair I shook my hair around my shoulders, determined to ignore him he shocked me by bursting into laughter.

“You mean the Evita thing?” he managed once his laughs had subsided. 

I spun my head to look at him. “He told you about that?” I asked incredulously. 

“It was my fucking idea Layla!” he shouted. “I’ve known Michael for years. He posted online about the understudy needing a few weeks off so I thought of you. Sal was with me when I found out. I was going to tell you when you came back from dinner yesterday but you never did.” 

My mouth fell open as the words poured out of his mouth and I sat on the edge of the bed, my head falling into my hands.

“Guess Sal didn’t tell you that huh?” Brian went on. “Do you know how fucking angry I was when Michael text me to tell me that Sal had taken you over there?”

I shook my head and felt the bed shift beside me as Q sat down on the bed next to me before pulling one of my hands into his. 

I looked up to find him watching me.

“What about Abbie?” I asked still stung about the article.

He leaned towards me so that he could meet my gaze. “It was lies.” He told me. “It happens. She had a few pics of us from the club which the paper wrongly assumed validated her story.” 

The room spun around me as I realised what an idiot I had been. I felt like a mug. I looked up and met Brian’s eyes, daring to hope that things could still work out.

“I know that all of this is confusing but there is something special between us.” He went on. “You can try and deny it all you want but I know you feel it too.”

“I’m sorry.” I told him, not knowing what else to say. “No-one has ever done anything like that for me before. It was hard not to be moved by it.” I whispered. “I can’t believe that was you.” 

Brian put an arm around me with a deep sigh and pulled me so that I could lean my head on his chest and I breathed a sigh of relief. His hand reached up to stroke my hair and I moaned my appreciation before turning my head so that I could look up at him.

As my eyes met his and I saw the look in his eyes I reached around to put my arms around him and moved my body to enable me to press my lips against his. 

The second our lips met our movements became hurried and less than a minute later I found myself tugging my camisole over my head as Brian did the same with his t-shirt. I angled my hips so that he could pull off my skirt and as he did so my panties came off with it, leaving me naked from the waist down. As my skirt hit the floor I pulled my bra straps down before undoing the clasp at the front and throwing it to the floor. I looked back to Brian to see him pulling off his jeans and boxers for them to be added to the growing pile of clothes on my floor. 

I eyed his body hungrily before throwing myself at him, only for him to catch me and turn us around so that he could lay me down on the bed so that he could cover my body with his.

“No more Sal?” he asked meeting my eyes, his filled with steely resolve.

“No more anyone.” I told him adamantly. 

This was what he wanted to hear and he ground his mouth against mine as my lips parted to allow entrance to his tongue. Our tongues wrestled as his hands slid up to cup my face and I opened my eyes to see him looking at me reverently. 

His gaze burned me as it moved from my face and traced the planes of my body as his hand followed his eyes and his fingers traced a trial down to my stomach, which fluttered beneath his touch. I felt like I could orgasm from his touch alone and I arched my body up so that I could feel more of his skin against mine only for him to push me back before looking up to meet my gaze.

“So impatient.” He grinned as my eyes narrowed. “What’s the rush?”

“Don’t tease me.” I pleaded as he took his hands away from my body and reached them up to run them through my hair. 

He smiled down at me and leaned in until his lips brushed against mine softly. “I am going to tease you until you are begging me to fuck you.” He whispered softly.

My core clenched at his words and I tried to grind against him only for him to pull just out of my reach. Before I had chance to try again he had pinned my hands at my side and moved so that he could start to rain kisses down my collarbone. 

“Brian...” I moaned but he reached up and put a finger to my lips, cutting me off. 

“Quiet baby.” He murmured. 

With this he lowered his head again and trailed kisses down my body until he got to my breasts, on which my nipples were already straining to be sucked.   
He looked up at me as he stuck his tongue out and licked his way around the hardened peak, making sure to keep my hands pinned so that I was powerless to do anything other than writhe beneath his expert touch.

He started to suck gently, causing me to break out in a sweat and moan softly and after a few minutes of this he transferred his attention to the other nipple.   
I arched my back so that he could take more of me in his mouth but he pulled back and shook his head at me, a wicked grin on his lips. 

“Try and stay still Layla.” He scolded.

I frowned at him, growing more impatient by the minute but he only smiled as he returned to the task at hand and moved lower, covering my taut stomach with kisses and licks as he moved closer to my centre. 

As he moved to crouch between my legs he looked up at me. “If I let go of your hands are you going to manage to stay still?” he checked.

I nodded frantically and took my bottom lip in between my teeth as he finally released my hands. With that he bent his head and ran his nose along my core before flicking his tongue out to caress the swollen nub that was aching for his touch. After a few minutes of his teasing me like this I thought I was going to explode and rip a hole in my sheets as I clawed at the material beneath me but finally he lowered his mouth to my sex and started to lap at me hungrily. 

“You taste so fucking sweet.” He growled as I fought not to writhe around wildly beneath him.

Teasingly he took a finger and slid it inside me and started to stroke me from the inside and I couldn’t help but moan as he pushed my body closer to the edge. 

Sensing that I was close he lowered his head to me once again and started to suck on my clit as my legs wrapped around his head to keep him prisoner in between them.

“Tell me how it feels baby.” He ordered as his fingers and tongue worked on the sensitive skin and I got steadily closer to orgasm.

“Amazing.” I stuttered out as my body started to shake and buck up to push more of myself into his mouth. 

As I fought not to close my eyes I looked down to watch him work me over and my vision started to cloud but I felt his movements stop and saw that he had moved so that he could dip his head back to my nipples.

“Brian, please.” I mumbled as he pulled his finger out of my sex and twirled his tongue tortuously slowly around my straining nipple.

He grinned up at me and I realised that he was serious about making me beg and I couldn’t resist giving in to his demands.

“Make me cum, Q.” I pleaded. “Please.”

He sat up, shooting me one of his wicked smiles, and reached down to the side of the bed for his jeans. I groaned in frustration as I watched him pull a condom out of his pocket. He took his time in taking it out of the packet and rolling it onto his cock and I knew that he was doing this to get back at me. 

As he threw the wrapper towards the pile of clothes on the floor I pulled him towards me and met his lips in a kiss as I reached down and pulled his middle towards mine.

“Fuck me Brian.” I moaned, as I ground my sex up and down his length, coating him with my juices. 

He looked into my eyes and smiled then, a smile that said everything that he couldn’t. 

“Told you I would make you beg baby.” He whispered wickedly.

Before he had even finished his sentence he parted my lips with his cock and slammed inside me. I couldn’t help it, I cried out and came right there and then. His teasing over the last half hour had driven me wild and I knew that I was going to come more than once as he started to slam inside me, making sure to keep his eyes on mine.

“You look so beautiful when you cum.” He groaned, filling me up with his length, driving it back and forth inside of me furiously, causing our bodies to slam against each other. 

I closed my eyes, powerless to resist the pull of sensations as my core rippled around him and pushed him towards a release of his own. Slowing down so that he could ease himself out of me before pushing every inch back inside me with incredible restraint, his hands cupped my chin and pulled my face towards his own and I opened my eyes to see him watching me. 

“I can’t get enough of you.” He told me, once again grinding his hips to push himself inside me. 

My face curved into a smile as I reached up to pull his lips to mine and my tongue dueled with his as his words sunk in. 

As if my body knew that he was close my pussy clenched so that it was even tighter around him and he upped his speed as he reached a hand down between our bodies to caress me, wanting us to take the plunge together.

“Like that?” he bit out watching my face. 

I nodded, my breath coming out of me in ragged pants as I my legs started to shake and I reached up to pull him even closer to me. 

Watching as his face scrunched up I let my body break apart and I couldn’t stop myself from screaming his name as I crested over the edge again and pulled him right along with me. I tried to keep my gaze on his but couldn’t help it and closed my eyes to savour the feeling of my body shattering into a hundred pieces as if it were about to burst into flames.

I managed to open my eyes just in time to see his eyes cloud and I felt him pour himself into me as he yelled a version of my name and gave me everything that he had.

We didn’t say anything for several minutes and the only sound that could be heard was our breaths, as they came rushing out of us in pants.

I was the first to move and I pulled myself up on my elbows as I reached over to grab a glass of water from the table beside the bed.

As I gulped hungrily to quench my thirst Brian reached over and held out his hand so that I could hand him the glass, which I did. I watched as he drained the liquid that was left in the glass and swiped a hand across his mouth.

After handing it back to me for me to replace it on the nightstand he moved to sit with his back to the headboard and I climbed into his lap, my legs intertwined with his. 

“I could fuck you forever.” He said quietly, wiping the sweaty strands of hair off of my forehead.

I reached up and wiped a bead of water off of his bottom lip with my finger before licking it off and grinning up at him.

“Ditto.” I mumbled back, pressing my lips against his and reaching down to run my hands through the dark hairs on his chest. 

Pulling back he smiled back at me. “Don’t.” he told me. “I’ll get hard again.”

I laughed freely and pulled back to swipe a stray hair out of his eyes. “And that’s supposed to make me stop?”

He pulled the duvet up around us and pulled me down so that we were spooning, his body curving to fit around mine, his hand reaching around so that he could pull me closer.

“Sleep baby.” He urged me. “We can talk more tomorrow. I have promo duties all day tomorrow so I have to be up just as early as you.”

I suddenly realised that I was shattered and followed his advice, letting the steady movement of his chest lull me into a deep sleep. 

 

I woke first and guessed from the light streaming through the gaps in my curtains that it was time to get up. I looked over at the clock on my wall and saw that it was indeed time to make a move so I gently turned round, realising that we had slept all night in the position that we had fallen asleep in.

My movement caused Brian to stir and I watched him as his eyelids fluttered open and his eyes landed on mine.

“Morning beautiful.” He murmured sleepily. 

My mouth curved into a grin and I leaned into his embrace, pressing my lips to his gently. 

“Morning.” I whispered, stretching my body and reluctantly pulling out of his arms. “We need to get moving I’m afraid.” 

“Shame.” Brian mumbled, pulling the duvet down so that he could sit up. 

I climbed out of bed and reached over to the back of the door, pulling my robe down off the hook and shrugging into it.

“I’m gonna shower.” I told him. “You want one?”

Brian shook his head. “I’ve got to go back to the hotel to get some clothes anyway so I will have one there.”

I nodded and opened the door, turning around briefly to look at him rubbing his eyes. “You look so good in my bed.” I grinned before heading towards the bathroom.

I hurriedly showered, letting the hot water wash over me and wake me up before stepping back out and wrapping a towel around myself. 

As I walked back into the bedroom I found Q waiting for me and saw that he had dressed whilst I showered. As my first class of the day was a dance class I pulled on some leggings and a stretchy sports top and quickly threw some clean clothes into my bag for rehearsals later. 

I was ready in no time and as I looked over to the clock I was surprised to note that I was actually running on time.

“Ready?” I asked Brian, who was pulling on his shoes.

He nodded up at me before jumping up off the bed to walk with me to the door. 

“I hate to bring this up but do you intend to talk to Sal today?” he asked me reluctantly as I opened the door. 

We stepped into the corridor and I looked up at him. “Yeah, I guess its time.” I decided. “Will you come with me?” 

He stepped towards me and pulled me close, letting my head rest on his chest. “I don’t know whether that’s a good idea Layla.”

I leaned up onto my toes and pushed my lips against his, running my hands around his shoulders to steady myself as his tongue worked its way into my mouth. After a few minutes I realised that we really did need to make a move so pulled out of his embrace reluctantly and ran a finger down the side of his face. 

“I really think it would be better if we were both there.” I told him.

Brian shook his head, disagreeing with me. “I really don’t think it would be.”

Just then we heard someone clear their throat. As if in slow motion me and Brian turned our heads slowly and saw that Sal was stood just inside the entrance to the building, looking up at us. He was stood with his mouth open and his eyes were wide in a look of horror.

“I knew there was something going on.” He stated, his eyes locked on us stood at the top of the stairs, arms still around each other.

I jumped out of Brian’s embrace and ran down the stairs, sensing that Sal was about to turn and walk out so I grabbed his arm before he had a chance and turned him to face me.

“Look,” I started, wondering what the hell I could say. “We didn’t want you to find out this way.” 

Sal’s eyes narrowed as Brian made his way down the stairs to stand beside me. “We?” he asked incredulously, his lips curving into a sneer. 

Brian put his arm around my shoulder and nodded. “Sorry bro.” he started. “But you couldn’t expect me not to tell her.” 

“Like you didn’t tell her about Abbie?” Sal retorted angrily. He turned to me and laughed bitterly before carrying on. “Did he tell you that he didn’t sleep with her?”

My eyes widened as the meaning of his words sunk in and I turned to look at Brian, watching as he took a deep breath to steel himself. I didn’t want to believe it but the look in Q’s eyes told me that it was true.

“I saw her leaving his room in the morning.” Sal continued as I shrugged off Brian’s hand from around my shoulder and looked up to see him looking sheepishly at the floor. 

As betrayal lanced through me I took a step back from them both and my head spun as I looked back and forth between them.

“Has this been some sort of fucking game to you both?” I asked quietly. “Is this something that you do for kicks?”

“God no!” Sal told me as Brian took a step towards me and reached out his hand.

I batted his hand away angrily and felt a sick feeling take over my stomach as I looked at them both in horror, waiting to see which of them would be the first to speak.

“I didn’t want to hurt you.” Brian said looking at me pleadingly. “I figured it would be best if you didn’t know.” 

“And I should have told you the truth about Michael and the show.” Sal chipped in. “I’m really sorry Layla.”

I remembered suddenly that I had to get to class and pulled my bag tighter over my shoulder, put my head down and went to walk past them.

“I’m sorry Layla.” Brian pleaded reaching out and taking my arm, stopping me from walking out of the door. “I just didn’t want you to feel the way I did. It was hell for me knowing that you were with someone else.”

I attempted to pull my arm away but he kept hold of me.

“I shouldn’t have done it.” He went on pleadingly.

“Get the fuck off me.” I told him looking up to meet his eyes.

The look in my eyes told him that I wasn’t messing around and he let go, his arm dropping to his side limply, his face crumpling into a look of defeat. 

I pushed the door open and put my head down again, heading towards the main road where I could flag down a cab. I had only taken a few steps onto the pavement before I realised that Sal was beside me.

“Layla.” He pleaded. “Don’t do this. You know how much I care about you. I shouldn’t have lied. I should…”

I stopped suddenly and looked up to meet his eyes. “No you shouldn’t have.” I agreed with a steely glare. “Now leave me the fuck alone.” 

With this I decided that I needed to get the hell out of there so I pulled my bag over my head and broke into a run. Not daring to look behind me I launched myself down the road and saw that there was a taxi coming my way. I threw my hand in the air and caught the attention of the driver and slid into the seat hurriedly. 

I gave him my destination and he must have sensed that I was in a hurry as he put his foot down and the car lurched forwards into the early morning traffic. I couldn’t help looking back down the street and I saw that Sal was half way down the street while Brian was stood outside the entrance to the flat.

As we rounded a corner and the guys disappeared from view I took a deep breath and leaned back into the seat. Fighting to stop my eyes filling from tears I thought back over everything that they had said and realised that they were both as bad as each other. I should have known from the morning when Brian had showed up after my class that something like this was going to happen. I had known deep down that things would come to a head and I couldn’t believe that somehow I had managed to be taken in by the both of them. 

Hoping that my classes would be enough to distract me but knowing that it was going to be a long, long day I closed my eyes and tried to put everything out of my mind as the taxi navigated its way through the morning traffic.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Layla tries to draw a line under everything that has happened she finds out that nothing is ever that simple...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter guys :) Hope it doesn't disappoint!

Classes and rehearsal went some way to taking my mind off of things but when I finally got home that night I walked into the flat and wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed and forget about the events of the day. It had been a long day and I had come to the decision that it was best to forget about both of them. At this point, I couldn’t deny that my heart lay with Brian but it was never going to happen. Things were too messed up and I knew it would be best for all of us to just forget about all this and get on with our lives. 

I closed the door behind me and turned around and saw that Lily was stood waiting for me.

“He has been here for an hour.” She told me, her face twisting into an apologetic smile. “I think you should at least hear him out.”

I shook my head but before I could reply she had turned and walked away and I heard her door close softly.

Walking around the corner I saw that it was Q sitting on the sofa waiting for me.

“You shouldn’t be here.” I told him. “I just want to go to bed.”

I made to walk past him but he jumped up and grabbed hold of my shoulders, turning me so that I had no choice but to face him. I saw that he looked just as exhausted as me.

“I’m sorry Layla.” He said passionately. “Not just for lying…but for everything.”

I shook my head but was too tired to protest when he led me to the sofa and pulled me down so that I was sat next to him. I pulled my hands into my lap and looked at the floor, willing this to be over quickly. I would let him say what he wanted to and then tell him to leave.

“I should have stopped things before they got out of hand that first night. I shouldn’t have let Sal come to the bar.” He told me, his voice wavering. “I should have kept you to myself but I didn’t and now all I can think about is how none of this would have happened if I had just told him that I was busy that night.”

I looked up as he went on and saw him run his hands through his hair.

“I know that I only have myself to blame for all of this. I can’t even blame Sal for wanting to get closer to you.” He muttered. “You are the most amazing person I have ever met.”

I felt my eyes fill with tears but was determined not to back down.

“Look, I don’t want to hear this Brian.” I whispered. “It’s over.”

He shook his head and reached for my hands and while I let them rest in his for a brief second I quickly pulled out of his reach and stood up.

“I should have told him how I feel about you. I should have told you how I feel but I didn’t and again, I know that this is my fault and I can’t do anything to change that, but I can do it now.” 

I looked down at him and smiled sadly. “It doesn’t matter. We all need to forget this whole thing.” I told him softly. “Please just go.” 

He stood up and came to stand in front of me, smart enough to leave his hands at his sides, knowing that if he touched me I would bolt.

“Abbie meant nothing. God knows I was thinking about you the whole time.” He went on. “I shouldn’t have done it but knowing that you were with Sal drove me insane and I needed some comfort. I know I shouldn’t have lied but I figured things were already messed up enough as it was.”

A single tear rolled down my cheek but I brushed it off angrily and shook my head. “None of this matters Brian.” I whispered. “It’s all too messed up.” 

With that I walked into my bedroom and shut the door and threw myself on the bed, part of me hoping that he would follow me but knowing that he wouldn’t. His words ran through my mind but knowing that at the end of the day nothing that he had said would make a difference I pulled the duvet around me and rested my head on my pillow. The best thing for all of us would be just to forget all of this. I didn’t want to come between 2 friends and while I couldn’t deny that I had serious feelings for Brian, I knew that they would fade in time and the best thing for all of us was just to move on. 

 

The morning dawned bright and clear and while I didn’t exactly feel like skipping to my classes I was at least well rested. Lily had left early but had left me a note saying that she had made me sandwiches and as I opened the fridge I had to smile as I saw that she had made my favourite for me.

I grabbed my lunch and headed out the door and tried to put everything out my mind but the day dragged and I was unsurprised when I checked my phone at lunch and found a text waiting from Sal.

‘Please can we meet? I need to explain. Sal x’

I ignored the text and tried to concentrate on my classes but I couldn’t stop thinking about it and realised after a pretty bad rehearsal that I needed to draw a line under everything and the best way of doing this was to have it out with him, let him say his piece and then move on. 

I shot him a text telling that I could meet him at a bar around the corner from the flat and felt my phone vibrate less than a minute later telling me he could be there in 10 minutes. 

Not giving myself chance to back out I forced myself to make the short walk and I made it there 15 minutes later. I steeled myself for whatever was about to happen and took a deep breath before walking in the door. I scanned the bar to see that Sal was sat at a table at the back, nursing a bottle of beer, his hands pulled up into the sleeves of his nondescript navy jacket and was relieved to see that the place was quiet.

He must have sensed me walk in because he turned to look and met my eyes, his mouth curving into a sad smile. He didn’t look any better than Brian and I felt a pang of regret over the part I had played in making all of this happen.

Walking over I slid into the seat opposite him and waited for him to speak.

“Thanks for coming Layla.” He greeted. “I didn’t expect you to come.”

I raised my eyebrows but said nothing and waited for him to go on. 

“I owe you a massive apology.” he said once he realised that I was waiting for him to talk. “This is all my fault.” 

My mouth curved into a confused frown as I looked up into his eyes and saw that he was looking at me steadfastly.

“I should have been honest about Evita. I feel really bad for that, I shouldn’t have deceived you.” He told me. “In fact I shouldn’t have done a whole lot of the things that I have done in the last week.”

My eyebrows furrowed as I wondered what he was talking about but before I had the chance to ask he carried on.

“I knew from that first night that Brian felt something for you. I got out of the shower that night to find you had bolted and he was sitting on the bed looking distraught and I knew it was because you had left. I haven’t seen him look like that for a long time, in fact, after what happened I didn’t expect to ever see him looking like that again. He had always been so adamant that he would never care about anyone again but it was pretty obvious that he did.”

My mouth fell open as I heard the words tumble from Sal’s mouth but he carried on before I could stop him.

“I left pretty swiftly after that and tried to put everything out of my mind and tell myself that it was a one off but I found myself at the bar the next day looking for you and couldn’t believe it when you agreed to get something to eat with me.” 

I looked up at him to see that he was clearly determined to get everything out.

“I’m not going to lie and say that I don’t have feelings for you but the truth is that I knew how Brian felt and I know that I should have stepped aside.” He explained honestly. “He is like my brother Layla and it pains me that I have hurt him. It pains me even more than if I had stepped aside straight away then none of this would have happened.”

I couldn’t help it, I reached over and I took his hand. “Have you told him any of this?” I heard myself ask him.

Sal shook his head sadly. “He wouldn’t talk to me yesterday and then today at filming he only really spoke to me when he had to.” 

“Well maybe you should find him tonight and set things straight huh?” I suggested. 

Sal smiled at me and squeezed my fingers between his. “I just wish we could go back to that night and things could be different.” He muttered. “I know that you probably know this given everything that has happened but he really cares about you.” 

I met his eyes and smiled sadly. “It doesn’t matter Sal.” I whispered. “It needs to stop here.” 

“Why?” Sal replied firmly. “There is something there. You can work past this.”

I shook my head and stood up, not wanting to talk about it anymore. “Come on,” I said, making it clear that our discussion was over. “You can walk me to a cab.”   
We walked in surprisingly comfortable silence until we reached a busy road where there were plenty of taxis driving up and down the street. 

“You will talk to him won’t you?” I checked. “I hate to think I’ve come between friends.”

Sal grinned and shook his head. “We are brothers Layla.” He answered adamantly. “We will be fine.”

I looked into his eyes and saw that he was telling the truth and I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that everything was going to be ok between the two of them. I smiled before reaching out for his hand and I let him pull me into an embrace.

“I really am sorry for everything Layla.” He apologised again. “I knew the whole time that it was him you were crazy about.”

I leaned my head on his shoulder and knowing that this would be the last time I saw him, or in fact either of them I let my eyes fill with tears.

“I know.” I murmured back to him, pulling out of his arms. “Don’t be a stranger ok?”

He smiled back at me and I flagged down a cab before opening the door. Sal stepped forward and shut the door as I leaned back into the seat and lifted a hand up to wave before my taxi pulled out into the traffic. Feeling a sense of relief that it was all done and dusted I closed my eyes and tried not to focus on the sense of loss I felt.

 

Lily tried her best to keep me from slipping into a funk but I couldn’t help but still feel down as I walked into the flat after the last rehearsal before my first show at the theater. I hadn’t heard from either of the guys and while part of me was glad, the bigger part of me couldn’t believe that Q had given up so easily. I was itching to text him but was determined to stick to my decision and knew that moving on was for the best.

“You excited about tonight?” Lily asked as I rounded the corner into the front room and saw her lounging in front of the tv.

I attempted a smile but couldn’t help being snarky. “Sure, I get to sit backstage and wait just in case the lead breaks her leg or something.” 

Lily jumped up and pulled me into a hug. “Come on, babe.” She said attempting to make me feel better. “Remember how good this is going to look in your portfolio.” 

“I know.” I sighed. “I’m sorry for being on such a downer this week.”

She smiled at me as she released me and took a step back. “Well tonight we are celebrating whether you like it or not.” She announced firmly. “This is a big deal and I am taking you out to forget about everything.”

I couldn’t help but smile back at her before pulling her into another hug.

“Thank you Lily. I don’t know what I would do without you.” I told her earnestly. “I’m going to get ready.”

I walked into my room, attempting to let Lily’s enthusiasm pick up my mood but couldn’t help still feel slightly wounded at the lack of contact from Brian. Deciding that I was going to get showered and changed I promised myself that I was going to try and feel better and not let this get in the way of my first night.

 

Unsurprisingly the show went without a hitch and while part of me felt disappointed that it was unlikely that I would get to take to the stage I felt happy for this chance and knew that I would forever be grateful to the guys for helping me grab this opportunity. 

I was sat backstage making small talk with the cast after the show when I sensed Lily behind me.

“Look,” she said excitedly as she made her way to stand beside me, thrusting a program at me. “You are in the credits! This is incredible. I’m so proud of you.” 

I let her pull me into a hug before she stepped back and looked around at her surroundings. 

“So do I get a tour?” she asked me excitedly.

I smiled and reached for her hand, pulling her towards a set of doors that led behind the stage.

“Of course you do.” I nodded.

I quickly showed her around the theater and we ended up in the corridor which lead to all the dressing rooms. Lily stopped in front of the door bearing the words ‘Director’ and gave me a cheeky grin.

“Can you introduce me?” she asked. “I’ve heard he is really good looking.” She added, raising her eyes brows and giving them a little wiggle.

“I doubt he is in here.” I told her laughing.

Surprising me, she opened the door and pulled me inside and I did a double take as I realised that Q and Sal were sat around a table in the middle of the room.  
I spun to look at Lily at exactly the same time that Sal jumped out of his seat and made his way towards us. As he stepped past me Lily backed out of the door before holding up her hand to silence the questions she knew I was about to ask.

“You need to sort this out guys.” She told me and Brian adamantly.

“We are sick of you both moping around.” Sal added quickly before pulling the door closed behind them.

As I realised that they must have set this up I took a deep breath before turning around to face Brian to see that he had stood up and was walking towards me.  
He stopped an arm’s length away from me and stood there, not speaking for a minute. As I dared to face him and was able to get a better look at his face I saw that he had dark circles underneath his eyes and had clearly had just as bad a week as me. I itched to reach out and run a hand over his chin, remembering how his beard would tickle when his lips met mine but knew that none of this changed anything.

“So you have been moping?” he asked, breaking the silence. 

I looked at the floor, not knowing what to say and was surprised when I felt his hand take hold of my chin and gently aim my face towards his so that he could meet my eyes. 

“I’m tired, that’s all.” I said, hoping that he believed my lies as I took a step back out of his reach.

As I realised that we were still in the same position that we had been in before I felt the need to get away from him as the familiar urge to run kicked in. I hurriedly opened the door and took one last glance at his face before I bolted around the corner and towards the dressing room. 

I heard footsteps behind me and realised that he was coming after me but didn’t let this stop me as I rounded a few corners and ended up back where I had been only half hour ago. I saw that there were still a couple of cast members around and belatedly realised that Sal and Lily were sat at my dressing table before I heard a shout behind me.

“Layla!” Brian called, now only mere steps behind me. “You need to stop running away from me!”

Brian wasn’t exactly quiet and as I came to a stop I noticed that everyone in the room was now staring at the two of us. 

I realised that it was too late to do anything about this now and turned around, knowing that I would have to face the music eventually and seeing that now was as good a time as any.

“Nothing’s changed.” I found myself shouting back. “We can’t do this.”

I could almost see the questions running through Brian’s mind as he reached up and ran a hand through his hair, noticing that we were now the centre of attention and that the dozen or so people in the room were all staring at us in fascination. 

“Why?” he asked.

I smiled sadly and shook my head. “Because from where we started we have no place left to go.”

Brian took a step towards me and shrugged his shoulders. “Then we can start again.”

“Things are just too messed up.” I continued, the reasons that we shouldn’t be together all rushing into my mind. “It would never work. You need to forget about me.”

I looked at Brian and saw him shake his head as my eyes filled with tears. 

“I can’t Layla.” Brian took me taking another step towards me. He was close enough that I could touch him now and my hands itched to pull him close but I knew that if I touched him my willpower would crumble.

“You can.” I told him sadly. “And you will.”

“I can’t Layla. Don’t you get it?” he asked before closing the distance between us and brushing away a stray tear that had escaped. “I love you.”

I vaguely heard a murmur go around the room and a gasp come from the direction of my dressing table but all of this faded away as I looked at him and saw him watching me intently.

“You what?” I whispered, thinking that I must have misheard him.

Brian smiled then and I knew undoubtedly that he was speaking the truth.

“I love you.” He repeated, his voice strong and clear as he reached up and brushed away the tears that were now steadily trickling down my cheeks. “And you can run all you want but I’ll be right behind you until you see the truth.”

I felt hope blossom in my heart and for once decided to go with it. 

“I love you too.” I told him honestly. 

The people around us started clapping but I didn’t notice as I let Brian pull me close and lean down and press his lips against mine in the truest kiss I had ever known. 

It could have been seconds or minutes later when he pulled back and swiped my hair out of my eyes, I didn't know. As I came back down to earth I suddenly realised that everyone around us was cheering and Lily was gripping Sal’s hand as tears poured down her cheeks and I felt my cheeks colour as Brian put his arms around my shoulder and turned us so that we were facing everyone. 

I looked over at Sal and Lily and saw that they were grinning before turning to look up to Brian to see that he couldn’t keep his eyes off me.

“Everything is going to be alright isn’t it?” I realised suddenly, knowing that even after everything that had happened, this moment was inevitable.

“Better than alright.” He told me meeting my lips in a brief kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks all of you for reading this and thanks some more for the comments!
> 
> If anyone has any ideas for new stuff drop me a note as I am kinda stuck over what to do next and would love to hear your ideas :)

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know how far I will go with this, we will see what happens!


End file.
